Holy S#!t! I Won a RITA!!!!! (oh, and I have a book out tomorrow)

*insert all the curse words* I did it y'all!

This past week was the Romance Writers of America conference, and the big event that wraps up the conference is our version of of the Oscars--The RITAs. I was nominated for two this year, which was a huge honor in and of itself. But then this happened...

Okay, so I thought *maybe* I had a chance at the erotic category (where BREAK ME DOWN was nominated) because it only had five nominees and the odds were better. But the Best Novella category was first of the evening and had like ten nominees from all different genres. I was not prepared to say the least. The first words out my mouth as I heard the word "Nice" and my table erupted in screams were, "Oh SHIT!" Lol. Always so eloquent, right? Then I was shaking all over and in some weird out of body state as I walked up to the stage.

I had a speech prepared. I couldn't read it. I choked up on stage and announced that I was going to cry. I forgot to thank everybody I meant to except my husband, mom, editor, and agent. But despite me completely having a breakdown in front of a giant ballroom of people and the live stream on internet, it was the BEST THING EVER. I can't even tell you how amazing it is to bring one of these home. I don't do this for awards, but man, they sure are nice. :)

And so since I forgot to thank you, my readers, I'm saying it now. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For reading my books, for your enthusiasm, and for all the kind words you send me. I couldn't do this job if it weren't for you. So I share the lovely RITA with you. ;)

*hugs* (Oh, and if you want to watch the RITAs and see my complete freak out, I think they're going to upload it to YouTube at some point and will share the link.)

In other news, WANDERLUST will be out tomorrow! And it's only $3.99. So if you haven't already, go grab you a sexy rockstar. ;)

About the book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Loving on the Edge series and Off the Clock, a story of sex, love, rock & roll, and a reporter who’s about to learn a new meaning for staying on top of her assignment... 

Restaurant critic Aubrey Bordelon is never at a loss for words to describe her meals in the fancy restaurants of New Orleans. But after her magazine’s high-profile music reporter falls ill, she finds herself out of her element and in a sea of screaming fans awaiting Wanderlust’s lead singer, Lex Logan. The sound of his voice gives her goosebumps, and the stage presence of the hard-bodied rock star takes her breath away. So when he pulls her onstage for a sexy stunt, she knows she’s in real trouble.

Lex doesn’t want to pretend that the sparks on stage between him and Aubrey never happened, but it certainly makes the fact that she’s writing a story on his band all the more dangerous. The last thing he needs is some nosy reporter revealing their problems to the world. But the sexy Southern belle doesn’t give up easily, and soon he’s wondering if the best way to chase her off the story is to coax her into his bed… 

PRE-ORDER THE BOOK: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play 

That's all I've got for you today! Hope you have a great week!

Recommended Reading: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

You ever have a book that you buy because someone recommended it, but then you forget about it and it sits on your shelf or on your e-reader forever? I have so many of those, so sometimes it takes not just one or two mentions of a book, but repeated, beat-me-over-the-head mentions to get me to pick it up.

That's the case for The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. Amazon shows that I bought this book on a sale in October of 2013, but I never read it. Then I saw people mentioning last week that it was on sale again and Dear Author raved about it, so I dug it out the pile on my Kindle. And I'm so glad I did.

I know why I bought it in the first place--besides the recs. The hero has Asperger Syndrome (though it isn't defined as such within the story because, in those times, they would've just thought the person was mad.) My son is on the spectrum and leans closest to Asperger's. So I'm always curious to read stories when that's portrayed. Also, sometimes I'm scared to read them because if it isn't portrayed accurately or respectfully, I get annoyed. I'm happy to say that Jennifer Ashley did a splendid job with Lord Ian's portrayal as a high-functioning Aspie. He was smart and endearing and sometimes frustrating, but still a sexy, swoon-worthy hero. I also liked that she showed his frustration with himself because he can't help doing some things a certain way. 

The story itself involves a bit of a mystery, but what I loved most was the couple. The heroine was a great fit for Ian--strong-willed and not letting him get away with anything. I also liked that she wasn't the typical historical heroine. She was an older heroine who has lived some life (she's a widow) and wasn't raised with wealth. That gave a different flavor to the story.

And boy was the story steamy--more so than I'm used to reading in historicals, so that was a fun surprise. :) Overall, I'm glad that I finally pulled this one off my virtual shelf and read it. And lucky for you, it's still on sale for $1.99 if you want to grab it! Just don't wait three years to read it like I did, lol.

What have you read lately that you're recommending to everyone?