Mallard Fillmore 1/27

From the Houston Chronicle.

Jane Slayre, coming April 2010

"Reader, I buried him."

A TIMELESS TALE OF LOVE, DEVOTION... AND THE UNDEAD.

Jane Slayre, our plucky demon-slaying heroine, a courageous orphan who spurns the detestable vampyre kin who raised her, sets out on the advice of her ghostly uncle to hone her skills as the fearless slayer she's meant to be. When she takes a job as a governess at a country estate, she falls head-over-heels for her new master, Mr. Rochester, only to discover he's hiding a violent werewolf in the attic-- in the form of his first wife.

Can a menagerie of bloodthirsty, flesh-eating, creatures-of-the-night keep a swashbuckling nineteenth-century lady from the gentleman she intends to marry? Vampyres, zombies, and werewolves transform Charlotte Bronte's unforgettable masterpiece into an eerie paranormal adventure that will delight and terrify.

Pre-order now!

Stop and Watch the Sunset

Kathleen Givens was a fabulous author and a dear friend. I spent the weekend in her hometown of Laguna Beach California with her family and friends, remembering her and the extraordinary life she led. On New Year's Day, she died suddenly and unexpectedly in the arms of her husband of forty years. Her heart just stopped. No warning.

But in her last four months, she had made a habit of forcing everyone around her to stop what they were doing and watch the sunset. She treasured every one as if she knew, though she couldn't have known, that it would be her last. Life is short, she always said. Hug your kids.

I blogged with Kathleen and Julia London at the Whine Sisters. In 2009, we added authors Jacquie D'Alessandro, Kathleen O'Reilly, Dee Davis, and Julie Kenner to the fold. But the three of us, the original Whine Sisters, remained the best of friends and always exchanged special Christmas gifts. This year's Kathleen gift? A necklace with her new mantra, a Winston Churchill quote: Never never never give up. She gave them to her daughters, too. A few years ago, she gave us bracelets that said "Fortune sides with she who dares."

Every day, I think of Kathleen, and I dare.

Share your memories and honor Kathleen with a donation to her favorite cause, the Ronald McDonald House of Orange County.

Mourning

One of my very best friends recently passed away and I'm on brief hiatus to deal with my grief (though she would disapprove-- she would tell me life is short). I miss her so much that my heart aches.

Kathleen Givens (pictured above, on the left with Julia London, center, and me) was a warm, generous, loving, spirited, strong and stylish woman. She was also a RITA-award winning author (for The Destiny) and the finest writer I know. If you haven't read Kathleen's books, you're missing out. I recommend her last two, ON A HIGHLAND SHORE, and RIVALS FOR THE CROWN (and then you'll be hooked and you'll want to go back and get all the rest starting with the incomparable KILGANNON).

Tributes for Kathleen are ongoing at The Whine Sisters. Please join us in remembering her.