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Archive for valentine’s day

LOVERS ROCK WEEK (Day 3): Hosted by Chris Marie Green

By Jia · Comments (32)
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
UPDATE: The winner of THE PATH OF RAZORS by Chris Marie Green is Mariska. Please email your physical addy to contests(AT)knightagency.net.
How many of you out there wanted to be Princess Leia?

Was it because of her butt-kickin’ attitude? Because she got to swashbuckle-swing across a Death Star chasm with Luke Skywalker? Or perhaps you spent hours in front of the mirror trying to get your hair in those buns?

Nah. It was totally because she ended up with Han Solo, wasn’t it?

And that’s why I’m dedicating this Valentine’s Blog to a couple whom I consider to be one of the most romantic in existence—Han Solo and the Princess.

They had a rough start. She yelled at him a lot. She called his co-pilot a walking carpet. She even insulted Han’s spaceship (and you just don’t do that to a man). She blew a hole in the Death Star cellblock corridor just inches away from his goodies and told him to hop into the garbage chute.

And he damn if he didn’t like every minute of it.

Yeah, she shared a gross little kiss with Luke before she knew he was her brother. (Thank you, Star Wars, for warping my childhood with this and Luke’s sliced-off, castrated hand. But that would be a different blog entry.) Heck, I even started off adoring Luke Skywalker, too, with his non-threatening surfer dude amble and golly-willickers outlook, before The Empire Strikes Back came out and something went “twing” in my body. We all go from boys to more dangerous men at some point in our lives, and although I suspect Leia never did hold any lust for the Skywalker, she’s no different.

Like us, she couldn’t say no to the sparks—the scoundrel grin and low-riding holster.

I guess I love Han and Leia because, when she dished it out to him, it was because she didn’t know how the heck to deal with her feelings. When he gave it right back, it was because he wanted to get her to admit to her emotions. It was a game to him at first, and he didn’t even know what to do when he was confronted with how he felt about her. When she blurted out her love to him while he sank into the carbonite pit in Cloud City, all he could do was be a smart ass. (Oh, those immortal words of affection: “I love you.” “I know.”)


But no matter how many barbs were traded, you always knew that they had unflinching respect for each other, and that only grew scene by scene. Why else would Leia have been so disappointed in Han when he left the rebel base to take his bounty money to Jabba the Hutt just before the big Death Star attack? She knew he’d be an asset. (She also thought he was unbearably hot, but that’s beside the point I’m trying to make here.)

Their relationship is certainly a model for a lot of stories that we read, watch, and love today—especially in paranormals and action-adventure. Look at how Buffy and Angel worked together, wiping floors with vamp blood. Vaughn and Sydney put the bad guys away on ALIAS as they spied their way around the globe. These characters weren’t just in love—they were partners in every way, solving problems, saving the world, knowing that when the chips are down, both were capable of taking up each others’ backs.

Also, the heroes always seem to depend upon the heroines in a way that goes beyond warming the bed or heart. The heroes will send the heroines on the most dangerous of missions because they’re as good as any man, although the heroines always give the heroes more than any mere war buddy. My own urban fantasies definitely have that “Han and the Princess” dynamic, too. From Camille and Sarg in my first vampire book, The Huntress, to Dawn and The Voice in my Vampire Babylon series, there are many I-love-you-I-know beats.

May the Force be with you on this Valentine’s Day! Oh, and if you’d also like to spend some time with a giveaway, I’ll send a signed copy of THE PATH OF RAZORS, Vampire Babylon, Book Five, to one person who leaves a comment here. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced tomorrow afternoon.

Chris writes urban fantasy as Chris Marie Green and romance as Crystal Green.

BREAK OF DAWN, Book Three in her Vampire Babylon series, has just been reissued in mass market format and book six, DEEP IN THE WOODS, is hitting shelves March 2. To learn more, you can go a number of places—www.crystal-green.com, www.vampirebabylon.com, Chris’s blog, Facebook or Twitter at http://twitter.com/ChrisMarieGreen.

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Categories : book giveaway, break of dawn, chris marie green, deep in the woods, guest blog, han solo, lovers rock, princess leia, star wars, valentine's day

LOVERS ROCK WEEK (Day 2): Hosted by Candace Havens

By Jia · Comments (28)
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
UPDATE: The winner of TAKE ME IF YOU DARE by Candace Havens is Sue (okibi_insanity). Congrats! Please email your physical addy to contests(AT)knigh

tagency.net.

When Jia asked me if I would be interested in writing a blog about Lover’s Who Rock this week, the first couple who popped into mind was a fictional one – Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy from the Bridget Jones Diary series. Now, I have to admit this isn’t usually my first romantic couple I pick when asked this question. But they have a special place in my heart right now.

Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy helped to launch my career. No, I’m serious. I was writing my first book CHARMED & DANGEROUS in diary format and I couldn’t figure out how to get it to work technically. A friend suggested I read the Bridget Jones book. I did, and that’s when I figured out that I just had to talk to my readers as if they were friends. It worked.

But something else happened when I read that book. I fell big time for Bridget and Mark’s relationship. Sure there were some over the top moments, but it felt more real to me than a lot of relationships I’d read in books. Things were messy and their timing was never quite right.

Isn’t that the way life is most of the time? You’re in one place and he’s in another? I loved that Bridget had, in much the same way as Jane Austen’s PRIDE & PREJUDICE, a bad first impression of Mark Darcy. She thought he was a pompous ass, and he didn’t know what to think of her. That felt very real to me. It’s tough to get past those bad first impressions, but it just gives the couples a more interesting journey.

When the movie version came out, I was ecstatic about the casting. I have a crush on Colin Firth whether he’s play Mark Darcy, Mr. Darcy or a gay guy in THE SINGLE MAN. He just does it for me. There’s something very earnest about him in every role he plays. And I may have a slight crush on Rene Zellweger too. In the comedies, she has that everywoman quality that is so endearing.

That final scene in the movie where she thinks he’s left after reading her diary and she runs out in the snow to find him is one of my all-time favorites. When they kiss, it’s almost as if the universe isn’t such a bad place after all. *happy sigh*

So that is why Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy are my favorite romantic couples. I’ve had many favorites through the years, but these guys helped to launch my career.

Following along those lines of inspiration, you can win a copy of my latest book, TAKE ME IF YOU DARE, which was inspired by the Bourne films and the television show Burn Notice, by posting a comment. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced tomorrow afternoon.

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Categories : bridget jones diary, candace havens, lovers rock, take me if you dare, valentine's day

Nephele Tempest Hosts Open Submissions Call

By Jia · Comments (0)
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
TKA Agent Nephele Tempest is hosting I’M IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, a week-long submissions festival on her blog. Here are the deets excerpted from her blog:

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“In honor of Valentine’s Day, I am currently accepting pitches here on the blog for any novel that falls within one of the genres I am presently seeking (list below), as long as there is some sort of romantic relationship in the book. It does not have to be the focus of the book; this does not have to be a romance novel. But most novels have a little flirting or romance in them, even if it’s not the primary subject, so this is going to include plenty of projects.
Accepted genres: Literary fiction, contemporary/mainstream fiction, women’s fiction, historical fiction, romance (including contemporary, historical, paranormal, and romantic suspense), young adult fiction (no children’s or middle grade please), steampunk, and urban fantasy.Your book needs to be completed and ready to be sent out. This means revised and edited and in a state that makes you proud.”
This event ends on February 14th. Click here to visit Nephele’s blog and get more details!
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Categories : i'm in the mood for love, submissions call, valentine's day

LOVERS ROCK WEEK (Day 1): Hosted by Jasmine Haynes

By Jia · Comments (30)
Monday, February 8th, 2010
UPDATE: The winner of YOURS FOR THE NIGHT by Jasmine Haynes is Cecile. Please email you physcial addy to contests(AT)knightagency.net.
Note from TPTB: This week we have invited five fabulous authors to guest blog about some of their favorite lovers of all time, fictional or real, in honor of the upcoming Valentine’s holiday. Each author will be giving away a signed copy of one of their books, so make sure you check back throughout the week!
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There are so many examples of famous lovers, both real and fictional, Scarlett and Rhett, Maid Marian and Robin Hood, Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, Bonnie and Clyde, Tracy and Hepburn, Bacall and Bogart, Ned and Matty. Ned and Matty, you ask? Who the heck are they? Just about my favorite pair of fictional lovers. Perhaps it was the steamy nature of the movie. I’d never seen anything quite like it, albeit I was mucho younger at the time with it being the early 80s and all. It was completely…hot. I remember an eye-popping scene where Ned throws a chair through a window to get at Matty, her in that sexy red skirt. It was shocking and…hot. Or maybe I already mentioned that. Got it figured out yet? Still don’t know? Think of it as a film noir reminiscent of the 1940s classics like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity? Heh, in making sure I get all my dates correct, I see that the remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice with Jessica Lange and Jack Nicholson was actually the same year as my fave, 1981, and talk about another steamy scene, whoa! However, I have to admit I still prefer the original version with Lana Turner. But I’m getting off topic here! Ned and Matty, William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. No matter the wonderful movies I’ve seen her in since, Kathleen Turner will always be Matty Walker in Body Heat. Did you guess correctly?

Now I wouldn’t exactly call Ned and Matty hero and heroine. They aren’t the nicest people. There’s a core of badness in each of them. First of all, Matty’s married to Edmund! Not to mention that perhaps Edmund stands in the way of what she wants. And how best to deal with a husband who’s in the way when divorce won’t work? Maybe a little murder. They were great characters, and I always find not-so-nice characters fascinating. They’re dark and luscious and drag me into a great story with intense emotions. Maybe that’s why I love these kinds of lovers, that intensity of emotion between them. Somehow, I keep rooting for them even though I know it’s probably going to end badly for them. I think of Ann Stuart’s and Linda Howard’s assassins, especially Death Angel. The assassin with a heart of gold.

Which makes me think of another phrase, the hooker with a heart of gold. And that brings me to my own series, Courtesans Tales. My heroines are just that. But please, we prefer to call them courtesans, LOL. I wanted to explore all the reasons a woman might choose to become a courtesan. The good, the bad, and the ugly, so to speak, yet still classy and elegant with romance and a happy ending, even if it might not always be traditional. Tackling characters who are doing something a little outside the mainstream, why they would choose to do it, well, that all fascinates me as much as Matty and Ned. YOURS FOR THE NIGHT is the first book in my series, and to give you a taste, I’m offering an autographed copy to one lucky winner from those who post a comment on the blog. Book 2, HERS FOR THE EVENING, will be out in May, and the third, MINE UNTIL MORNING will arrive in stores in December. In LACED WITH DESIRE, out this month in time for Valentines and also featuring stories by Jaci Burton, Joey Hill, and Denise Rossetti, my story, “La Petite Mort,” visits with one of the characters featured in Courtesans Tales. Please try out an excerpt here.

So, I’d love to hear who your favorite bad-to-the-bone lovers are? Don’t forget to post a comment to be entered in my drawing for YOURS FOR THE NIGHT! The winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon.

Jasmine Haynes (also writing as JB Skully and Jennifer Skully)!

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Categories : body heat, guest blog, jasmine haynes, kathleen turner, laced with desire, lovers rock, valentine's day, william hurt, yours for the night

Tunnel of Love Week Guest Blogger: Dakota Cassidy

By Jia · Comments (68)
Monday, February 9th, 2009
UPDATE: This contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated. To find out the winner, click here to visit Dakota’s blog!
Okay, so, the lovely Jia from The Knight Agency emailed me and asked me to blog. I know she’s lovely because I just met her this past week, and now that I’ve met her, and she’s all lovely—I couldn’t turn her down.

Which means here I am, workin’ my last brain cell to come up with something to amuse, enthrall—electrify you.

So how’s that workin’ out?

Yeah. Same here.But wait! I have an idea. A Valentine’s Day idea (cue swelling strains of violins and drum beats, emphasizing a moment of dawning lost brain cell recovery). Okay, so it involves some blatant promo, but if you read this (all the way through. No cheating allowed), I promise you could win something cool.

So here we go. I write a series called the “Accidental’s”. It’s a trilogy (and just recently became a quad of stories—is it called a quad?), about three BFF who’ve all been accidentally turned into some sort of paranormal creature or another. Marty Andrews was in The Accidental Werewolf. So yeah, she was accidentally bitten and thus, shazam!—turned into a werewolf. Nina Blackman is my heroine in Accidentally Dead, a dental hygienist who’s accidentally bitten by a vampire, and probably the single most cranky candidate for anger management on the planet. And lastly, Wanda Schwartz, in The Accidental Human—sweet, gentle, sorta OCD who’s in deep horse puckey. I can’t tell you what happens to her because the book doesn’t release until March, 3, 2009 (insert more blatant promo here). Oh, and Wanda’s story is still paranormal. Figure that out with a title that has the word “human” in it, why don’t ya?

Now, the men in these women’s lives are not only patient (OMG—they’re like Job times a million), but hunky and totally willing to try and make the eternal accidents they’ve created, right. Real stand up guys.

First, there’s Keegan. He’s Marty’s man. Owns a multi-million dollar cosmetics company, and he’s also the alpha male of his werewolf pack. Oh, and he’s loverly to look at and despite the fact that he was attacked by Marty’s poodle when he was in werewolf form, he loves her dog.

Then there’s Greg. He’s Nina’s squeeze, and if Keegan can be called patient, Greg should have that word hyphened on his name because he deals with Nina. Nina’s cranky, has a potty mouth, and gives new meaning to the phrase “let’s get ready to rumble”. Greg’s a vampire, lick-a-licious, and the leader of his vampire clan.

Finally, there’s Heath—Wanda’s prey… er, potential love interest. Heath has the hardest job of all—winning a woman who’s just been diagnosed with a terminal illness—an illness he has no clue she’s got. They meet when he answers Wanda’s ad to sell cosmetics. Dudes, I know! A man who wants to sell cosmetics is just plumb lunacy. But there’s a reason, and in order to find out exactly why an off the chain hot guy like Heath has resorted to selling makeup—(insert more bold promo here), ya gotta read the book. Though, here’s a little tidbit on Heath. He’s human, too. Aha! I just know you’re all wondering how Wanda and Heath’s story can be paranormal if they’re both human (promo, promo, promo). But Heath has a secret—a big one. He’s also got a great sense of humor and more optimism in his little pinky than most have in their entire bodies.

So here’s how this all ties into Valentine’s Day—tell me, what do you suppose these poor men are going to go through every single year in an effort to make up for the life altering changes they’ve wreaked upon their women? And we’re not talkin’ just fifty years worth of making up—they’re immortal—that means they gotta do this forever. Seriously, what kind of gift can you come up with that’ll evah make up for turning someone into a vampire or a werewolf?

Is a box of candy ever going to cut it when you can’t even eat those chocolaty morsels of goodness because your diet consists of nothing but O positive? Do flowers really say, “Shoot, punkin’, I’m sorry you have to eat raw cow and shave your legs twice a day—forevah.”?

Does an expensive dinner with a wine you can’t pronounce the name of make up for the fact that you’re never going to be able to watch daytime television again? Will a cuddly teddy bear with a big red bow on it make your knees all soft butter-like when you’re battling hormonal mood swings to rival any bi-polar?

Yeah. Thus, this leads me to my question—I want you guys to tell me what kind of gift you think could possibly make something so earth shattering all good. A trip around the world—a Lamborghini—maybe a yacht?

So go on, hit me with your best shot—and see below for the contest rules :) .

And here are the contest deets—I’m giving away a signed copy of the second in my series titled, Accidentally Dead. But that’s not all—I’ll personally buy TWO books by any one of the Knight Agency clients and have them shipped directly to you.

Uh-huh—so take a peek at some of the fab authors like Nalini Singh, Candace Havens, Gena Showalter, Deidre Knight and bunches more. Go here: http://www.knightagency.net/our_books/ and have a peek at some of the awesome books that could be yours!

All you have to do to be entered and add to your TBR pile is this—leave me a comment in the comments section with your answer, and that’s it!

One winner will be chosen at random Tuesday, February 10, 2009. The books chosen by the winner must already be published or available for pre-order. To find out if you’ve won, check out my blog where I’ll announce the winner here http://www.dakotacassidy.net/

Good luck, and heartfelt thanks for the support you’ve given the “Accidentals!”

Dakota :)

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Categories : dakota cassidy, tunnel of love, valentine's day

Tunnel of Love Week

By Jia · Comments (1)
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
I’m sure you’ve noticed the tell-a-tale red and white teddy bears lining the aisles of your neighborhood drug store, Hallmark commercials promoting those cutesy singing cards or any of the other millions of reminders that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. We’re getting in on the action on the TKA blog with a week-long celebration starting Mon., February 9th that will feature guest bloggers Dakota Cassidy, author of the upcoming release THE ACCIDENTAL HUMAN; Monica Burns, the author of DANGEROUS; Maria Geraci, author of the upcoming book BUNCO BABES TELL ALL; Katherine Garbera, author of BARE NERVE; and Jessica Andersen, author of the P.E.A.R.L.-nominated NIGHTKEEPERS. Besides great posts, there will also be plenty of contests! You don’t want to miss it.
Also, if you’re not signed up for our agency newsletter…you just might want to consider taking the leap. We have a special Valentine’s Day edition coming out and it’s full of great industry info as well as an exclusive contest for our newsletter members. Click here to sign up! Or check out an example, click here for our January newsletter.
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Categories : tunnel of love, valentine's day
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