Some people love trying new things. Some people don’t. I’m not so hot at it myself when it comes to things like, say, skydiving. But when it comes to books, I love it. One of the easiest and best ways to try something new, in my meek little opinion, is to check out an author whose work you’ve never read before.

As you all (probably) know, my first historical romance will be released by Kensington Zebra in October 2011.  That’s a lot of time before anyone can check me out, so to speak.  So in the meantime, I want you all to try some other authors who might be new to you.

What exactly does that mean?  Well, we can play with the contest theme month by month. Maybe we’ll do the newest release by an author.  Maybe we’ll pick the debut novel by an author who’s at the very beginning of his or her career.  Maybe we’ll read a book with the word “New” in the title.

But. For my debut contest, here’s the theme:  I’m giving away two debut novels. Simple as that.

The prizes are THE NAKED DUKE by Sally MacKenzie and PROOF BY SEDUCTION by Courtney Milan. I adored both debut novels, and I’m giving away two sets this month — so there will be two winners, and if you win, you get both books. As a special bonus, these lovely authors have chipped in some signed goodies to go along with the books. Thanks so much, Sally and Courtney!

You can enter this month’s contest in one of two ways (or two of two ways, if you get really excited):

1. Leave a comment to this blog post.  Tell me an author you recently tried for the first time and loved.  Or, tell me a twist on the “newness” theme that you’d like to see in a future contest.
2. Come Like me on Facebook and leave a comment to the contest post on my Page (under the Discussion tab).  Same twist to the comments!

I look forward to your unfettered creativity!

And — please do help me thank Sally and Courtney for their John Hancocks by checking out their sites. They both update often and have lots of great extras on their sites. If you’re hungry for more, Courtney’s next release is TRIAL BY DESIRE, coming out from HQN at the end of this month. I can’t wait to get my grabby little hands on it. Sally’s sixth Naked book, THE NAKED VISCOUNT, is new on shelves from Zebra as of June. My grabby little hands have already been all over that one…don’t tell Mr. R.

The nitty gritty fine print:

The contest will close at noon ET on Thursday, September 30, 2010.  I’ll select a Facebook winner and a blog winner from among each pool of commenters using random.org. Your chances of winning depend on the number of comments – so don’t spam, but feel free to get all sociable-like. I will announce and contact winners no later than October 2, 2010. Winners will need to PM me their snail mail addresses. For shipping reasons, only US residents are eligible to win.

Two posts in one day.  That’s inconceivable!

Except I just got some news on the new title of The Viscount’s Dilemma, so I had to share it.  I posted on my News page in June that the book would be getting a new title to fit it in with its pre-Christmas release date.  I sent a few suggestions to my editor (deciding, at the last minute, against including Cooking the Viscount’s Goose).  She tweaked one of them, and voila — SEASON OF TEMPTATION will be shaking hands with you in October 2011.

I love it. I think it’s a great title. Far, far better than the goose one.

But go ahead, you can have some fun here.  What hilarious, heartwarming, or heave-inducing festive titles can you come up with?

I know, you’re all disappointed that it’s been a while since I directed you to a stack of dusty tomes with tiny print columns of excruciating minutiae.  Well, maybe next week.  This week, I’ve popped into the 21st century temporarily and have set up a public Page on Facebook.  Why?  Mainly because my fabulicious friend Ragan just redid the masthead on this site (nice, huh?) and I wanted another place on the web to have a picture of my giant pumpkin head.

Ok, not really.  It’s mainly because I started noticing the way I liked to click around online, especially on Facebook.  Usually I just want to swoop by and see if my favorite authors have news, and that’s easier to do if they’ve got everything public.  Friending someone on a private profile is a big commitment.  Often you can’t see their Wall before you do, so you don’t even know if they’re going to be a fun friend or if they’re just going to use the profile to count down the weeks until their book is out.  (Note:  I am a totally fun friend.  And the answer is 56.)

So, now you can preview me.  You can go see my Page and decide whether I seem like someone you want to virtually hang out with.  If the answer is yes, feel free to post something interesting on the Wall.  My definition of interesting is extremely broad — from cane toad purses to zombie science to morbid 19th century poems.  And, of course, books books books.

So I’m sure we can find something to talk about for the next 56 weeks. And then:  the aggressive book pimping starts!

It’s raining this morning. We’ve been in a drought for so long that our grass is bleached blond and Little Miss R forgot how windshield wipers worked (she shrieked with glee when I turned them on this morning).

Outside, there’s a cozy gray sky and a continuing drizzle that takes the edge off the brutal August heat. Usually I don’t listen to music while I’m working, but this morning I feel like celebrating with rain songs. My iTunes has been known to screw me over, but it’s working pretty well today.  I searched for everything with rain in the title and hit shuffle.  Whee!  Here we go.

I keep forgetting I have some of these little gems, since I’ve been porting my music library from computer to computer for about 12 years.  I do like how I got hits for “Train” and “Brain” too.

What do you like to listen to when it rains?  Or what does your computer helpfully suggest you listen to?

So pretty soon now I’ll be having a birthday that starts with “th” and ends with “uh..twenty-nine. Yeah.” It’s a milestone we all reach eventually, I suppose, unless we don’t.

To give myself a little perspective, or just make myself feel terrible, I thought I’d look at what some famous authors in history had accomplished by their thirtieth birthdays.

William Shakespeare: Turned 30 in 1594.  Had been married 12 years. Had 3 children, including twins.

Prognosis: Not good.  Unless I learn to bend space and time (which I can’t…YET), I won’t accomplish any of those things.  Although from what I’ve heard from a friend who has twins, it is very helpful in handling them if you CAN bend space and time.

John Keats: Turned “30″ in 1825. Had actually been dead from tuberculosis for almost five years.

Prognosis: Unlikely.  My TB tests have always been negative.

P.G. Wodehouse: Turned 30 in 1911. Had been born prematurely and nicknamed “Plum”. (I believe the two facts are unrelated.)

Prognosis: Fair.  I have never had any nickname at all (hush, Mom), but possible I could get some kind of fruit name going in time.  “Grapefruit” could be fun.

Agatha Christie: Turned 30 in 1920. Had worked as nurse during World War I. Published first murder mystery, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, featuring vain Belgian Hercule Poirot.

Prognosis: Mediocre. While I did not work as a nurse during World War I (I was negative 65 years old, which most consider too young for adopting a helping profession), I have included vain characters in some of my books. And Very Bad Things happen in Belgium to the hero of my WIP, including some deaths (not his). My first novel won’t come out until I’m 31, though. Too bad.

Sigh. That didn’t go so well.

Who else should we consider?  The great Jane?  At age 30, she had one book sold (though not published), and two more written but not sold yet.

Hmm. That’s more like it.

Anyone else I should match myself against?  Got any Americans for the list?

Especially not you men out there. (Click picture to be taken to external video. 29 seconds of eeeeiiiiggggh, courtesy of the year 1894.)

So, I’m giving a talk on silent film next Wednesday at our city’s public library.

On the one hand, I love doing this kind of thing, because, hey, then I get to talk about silent film.  This may surprise you, but there really are not a lot of chances to talk about silent film for an hour straight without having people get glassy-eyed and edge nervously away.

On the other hand, there’s something about doing a talk that makes ME the glassy-eyed one who wants to edge nervously away.  I really am an introvert, and while I’m not exactly AFRAID of public speaking — well, it’s like Bartleby said. “I would prefer not to.”

But it’s great that I was invited, so now I’m floating between two centuries again.  I am getting ready for the talk next Weds while also trying to finish my WIP (oh, word count goal, where art thou?).  All this before I have a Very Special *&@# Birthday mid-month.

So where are the handsome men and pretty ladies I promised you in the post title?  Well, the latter is darned sure not sitting at my computer right now.  Nope, I’m talking about silent film.  Crazy Norma Desmond insisted in Sunset Blvd that they had faces then, and she was right.  Just look at that picture again. This is from Camille (1921).  It’s kind of a crazy movie, but aww, they all look so great.  That’s Alla Nazimova with a drink in her hand, and lovely Rudolph Valentino looking at her like…well, like that.

If you’ve never seen a silent film, I’d recommend starting with The Cameraman.  It’s not at all crazy. The plot makes perfect sense, it’s hilarious, it’s sweet, and it’s only 76 minutes long.  It stars Buster Keaton at the beginning of his MGM career, before they quit letting him be his zany self. It co-stars a monkey. You really can’t beat that.

Have fun this week.  Let me know if you check out any silent movies!  And if you want to come hear my talk next Wednesday…nah, don’t tell me.  It’ll just make me more nervous.

In 1900, the population of Orlando, Florida was about 22,000.

This week, about ten percent of that number — more than TWO THOUSAND people — are going to Orlando just for the annual conference of Romance Writers of America.

If you write romance, you’ve heard of RWA.  If you’re an editor or a bookseller, you’ve heard of RWA.

As a reader, I never had. Until I got a bug in my ear about writing one of my own.  Then I started noticing, as I trolled my favorite authors’ websites, how many of them referred aspiring authors to RWA.

Having now been an RWA member for a whopping 2-1/2 years, I can say:  they were right.  It’s great.  For a writer who wants to turn a dream into a career, you could ask for no better organization. They offer reliable info on the commercial publishing industry, resources for every stage of the process, networks and listserves of fellow writers at every stage…and a booty-kicking conference, every year, in which hundreds of writers sign books for literacy; authors, agents, and editors give two days of fantastic panels; and the whole shebang ends with the RITA and Golden Heart awards ceremony honoring the year’s best in romance fiction.

Can you tell I wish I was at the conference?  I’m not jealous of the Orlando humidity.  But I feel like…well, like I’m missing out, being half a country away from all that coolness (weather joke not intended).  Not to mention the tens of thousands of free books that get given out.

Alas, this year, it wasn’t in the cards. Instead, the cards foretold two new crowns for teeth I broke more than 20 years ago.  (Yes, I have always been clumsy.)  Plus our HVAC system had to be replaced.  DUDE.  That was a big deal.

As you all know, you only get so many cards. So, I can’t have it all.

This week, I’ll stay home. Thank goodness it’s an air-conditioned home, at least. I’ll read books. I’ll stalk Twitter and the RWA site for conference info.  I’ll be so happy for all the RITA and GH winners on Saturday.

And oh, yeah, I’ll get some writing done too.

So, you all are probably aware that it’s been hot lately.  Reeeeeeeeeally hot.  Especially if your AC breaks.

THANKFULLY, we were “only” without AC for 2 days.  But the damage was done:  my brain boiled away.  All that is left are a few random things.  I will give you the standard 10.  (By the way, the picture above is what you get if you image-search for “random” on Google, then shut your eyes and point to the screen.  Well played, Google.)

1.  Next song iTunes is going to shuffle up for me:  (*click click*) ”The Coventry Carol.”  Wha…?  Must separate Christmas music into its own playlist.

2.  Last show I watched on TV:  We are watching “From the Earth to the Moon,” done with the first six episodes.  I persuaded my daughter to watch it by saying “You can see rocket ships!  And men talking!”  So now she thinks it’s great.  Of course, now she’s also asking to go in a rocket ship.  Um, maybe later, honey.

3.  Last movie I saw:  Alice in Wonderland, the Tim Burton version.  He was at his Tim Burtoniest.  Not my new favorite movie.  (To become that, it would have to beat out The Mummy, and that is NOT HAPPENING.)

4.  The last movie I saw in a theater: ….oh.  Um.  Date Night, I think.  Was it?  Yeah.  Yeah, that was the last one. o_O

5.  How fast did I eat the bag of Jelly bellys that was supposed to last an entire week?  Two days, baby.  Don’t hate.  I was trying to keep my brain from boiling.

6.  Last thing I cooked/baked:  If you discount the microwave, I think it was tilapia.  if you count the microwave, the answer gets pushed a lot closer to the present time and it was about 4 cups of coffee in a row.

7.  Strangest thing that ever happened to me on an airplane:  Oh, this was great.  It was right before takeoff, and the flight attendant came bustling back to my aisle.  ”Excuse me, ma’am,” she said to the woman sitting across the aisle from me. This woman was in late middle age, very proper and friendly looking, like a retired teacher.  She was traveling with her husband.  APPARENTLY her carry-on had started buzzing and was freaking out the flight crew.  This was interesting enough to cause the senior gentleman next to me to take out his earbuds (I know, he was cooler than me) and watch the developing situation with interest.  The teacher-lady was getting flustered as she took down her carry-on and began unzipping and rifling through pockets.  By now the buzzing sound was audible to those of us across the aisle.  Finally she unzipped one last pocket, peeked in, and said loudly in a tone of relief, “It was my toothbrush!  Now, how did that get in there?”  The earbuds man next to me said, “Sure, lady.”  Then she put back her now-quiet bag and he put his earbuds back in, and we all had a pleasant flight.  earbuds and me probably more so than teacher-lady.

I never saw the toothbrush.  But, hey.  She said it was a toothbrush.

8.  Number of books in my TBR:  26.  Manageable, though I know some people could eat 26 books for breakfast and pick their teeth with 26 more.  (One for each tooth, if you’ve had your wisdom teeth out and then lost two more in a freak accident.)  But I have two shelves for the TBR pile, and if it overflows those it starts to seem more stressful than fun.*

*Perhaps it’s getting close to critical mass. The first time I typed that sentence I wrote “starts to seem more fun than stressful.”  Whoops.

9.  Am I caught up on the laundry?  Hahahaha. *grumble* Ok, no.

10.  Did I meet my writing goal for the week?  Well…I came closer to getting that done than I did with the laundry.

So.  Tell me something random about you!  Keep it clean enough for Google SafeSearch, please. :)

I love to look at the stats for my website.  Not only does it make me feel like someone is reading besides my mom (actually, I don’t know if my mom reads any of this), but it also shows me some really entertaining things.

My favorite feature is seeing the search terms people plugged in to get to the site.  I’ll present a few from the past, with no comment or judging.

Just kidding, of course.  Here we go.

March 2010:

Why, thank you.  Except for the last one.  What IS a made up poem of roots?

Nice to see a little lingering love for Margarita Fischer.  That one might well have been a hit from my mom.  For those of you who don’t know, Margarita was a silent film actress and the subject of my first published book (a biography, not a historical romance).

I am going to assume that “disastrous engagement with” and “Theresa Romain” have nothing to do with one another even though the searches came in quick succession.  Mr. R, it is far too late to be complaining about that sort of thing.

April 2010:

These were all related to me and/or writing and thus, while they make sense and are much appreciated, they aren’t all that funny.

May 2010:

Again with the disastrous engagements.  These hits are probably due to an earlier post I did on The Viscount’s Dilemma.  I hope the lovelorn searchers found my historical romance “hilarious,” though probably not “meek.”  Either way, I am guessing they were looking for more empathy than they got from my site.

As for the viscount recipe…I can only imagine.  I only know I don’t want to eat that.  (Well, maybe I do.)

Ok, folks.  There you have it.  I’ll throw June and July at you sometime later.  In the meantime, see what you can do to give the stats counter something interesting to record!