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Hi Folks,
We’re counting down to the finish on my end-of-summer Got…Enslaved contest. Just six more days before the contest closes on 9/1, so if you’ve seen Enslaved out and about, or elsewhere online, please email in.
“Alert readers” continue to email me their Enslaved sightings, including readers from other countries. Recently added to the list of early release sightings are Chapters book store in downtown Montreal and online at The Book Depository (www.bookdepository.co.uk).
🙂 Hope
Multiple copies of Enslaved (turned face-out, no less!) were sighted in the romance aisle of a Books-A-Million in Pensacola, Florida as of August 14th. Many thanks to Lucile for reporting in. Good luck, Lucile, in the end-of-summer Got…Enslaved Contest.
🙂 Hope
With temperatures soaring, at least here in Virginia, it’s hard to believe fall is right around the corner but it is. Soon school bells will once again be ringing and back packs will be filled with crisp new textbooks to be cracked open–and closed.
Along with those harbingers of autumn, my summer “Got…Enslaved? Contest” closes on 9/1. So, if you’ve happened upon one of the advance copies of the book, don’t forget to drop me an email with “Got…Enslaved?” in the subject header to make things nice and simple. I’ll add the location to my growing list and enter your name in the contest pool.
Hope
Copies of Enslaved have been sighted most recently at the Barnes & Noble in Daytona Beach, Florida. Thanks to Lucile F for emailing the info. Lucile, good luck in the “Got…Enslaved?” summer contest.
Hope
Copies of Enslaved can be found at Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks stores in Mesa, AZ. Thanks to Joy I of Mesa, AZ for emailing the information.
Got (a copy of) Enslaved? Email me the store name and location with “Got Enslaved?” in the email subject header, and you’ll be automatically entered in my special summertime contest. The winner will be announced in early September.
And please check back in a day or so for the dish–garnished with the occassional “naughty bit”–from the Romance Writers of America conference in Dallas.
Hope
Just a quick note before I dash off to Dallas for this year’s Romance Writers of America conference. Each year, the RWA conference kicks off with a multi-author (think 450-strong) Readers for Life Literacy autographing, the proceeds benefiting a major literacy-related charity housed in the host city. While the conference programs are for registered attendees only, the book signing is open to the public and heavily publicized. I’ll be signing copies of Vanquished as well as The Haunting and chatting with readers, fellow authors, and media in the Hyatt grand ballroom.
In between “work,” there will be publisher parties galore as well as some hours logged in the lobby lounge sipping wine, eating far too many bar munchies, and catching up with writer friends I only get to see a few times a year. The conference wraps with the Awards Ceremony and gala on Saturday where everyone puts on the Ritz to celebrate the Rita and Golden Heart winners (and console the other finalists) with champagne and chocolate. 🙂
At some point during the conference, I’ll be blogging from the RWA media room set up in the conference hotel. To read the blog in progress, go to rwanational.org after Wednesday and follow the links.
Once I’m back, I’ll be posting pictures and tasty tidbits from the conference week. Also on the horizon is my blog on “Hope and Susan’s Excellent Adventure,” a post-Independence Day roadtrip to Roanoke, WV and Blacksburg, VA with my buddy, Susan. (Hint: If Susan lets me, there may even be a pic posted from that adventure, too).
In the interim,
Happy Trails–and Happy Reading,
Hope
Happy Independence Day,
Hot dogs slightly charred and hot off the grill, ice cream that melts before you take that first anticipated swipe from the cone, watermelon that for whatever reason tastes more succulent than it does on any other day of the year–Fourth of July conjures a bevy of visceral as well as cognitive memories for most of us. And of course, no Independence Day celebration would be quite complete without fireworks (the safe public displays, if you please, at least for Yours Truly).
Enslaved, too, is taking off with a bang. This seems a good time to thank all of you who have taken the time to email me with your preview copy “sightings.” So far we have Joseph-Beth Booksellers (josephbeth.com), overstock.com, Borders stores (by order and in some cases already shelved), a Barnes & Noble (somewhere?), and a Books-a-Million in Mobile, Alabama (Pinebrook Shopping Center on Airport Drive). And of course, if anticipation is your thing (think the old Heinz ketchup jingle about “making me wait…”) you can always preorder a copy at amazon.com.
To thank readers, and to celebrate the summer sizzle, I am running a special blog contest from now through September. Please check back at www.hopetarr.com after the holiday for details on how to chime in and win.
In the interim, eat a hot dog slightly blackened around the edges and sloppy with relish and mustard and chopped onions. Go for not just an ice cream cone but a double dip. Seize the chance to lay back on a blanket, let the evening coolness wash over your sunburnt face, and savor the bliss of a perfect fireworks constellation while snuggling someone you love.
Have a great Independence Day…
Hi Everyone,
As many of you know, my new historical romance, Enslaved is now available for direct order through Borders Bookstores or online through Independent Publishers Group. You can also pre-order the book at amazon.com.
The sequel to Vanquished, Enslaved is slated for worldwide release in October 2007. That said, about 2,500 copies of Enslaved shipped early and have already found their way onto bookstore shelves–and into eager readers’ hot little hands.
Sightings so far include Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH (www.josephbeth.com) and Books-a-Million, Pinebrook Shopping Center on Airport Blvd., Mobile, Alabama. I’ve also heard from a ton of people who’ve ordered it through their local Borders store.
Do you have a copy of Enslaved? If so, I’d love, love, love to know where you got yours, be it a chain bookstore, an indy bookstore, a library or well… anywhere.
Over the summer months I’ll be building a list of “Early Enslaved Sightings” to track the progress of these renegade books. So if you could take two ticks (AKA moments) to post to this thread, you’ll be helping out by letting other readers know where they can find the book.
To reward “informants, ” I’ll be running a special “Get… Enslaved Sneak Peak End of Summer Contest” in addition to my regular monthly contest. The winner will be announced on September 1st. The prize will be a signed copy of Book #1 in my “Men of Roxbury House” trilogy, Vanquished, a signed cover flat of Enslaved as well as the winner’s pick of my backlist titles.
In the meantime…
Happy Summer Reading — and Sighting
Hope
Hi Everyone,
I’m back from Book Expo America. For those of you not familiar with BEA, it’s the U.S. answer to the London and Frankfurt Bookfairs and I do believe it’s even bigger — around 30,000 participants at this year’s event held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.
Big clue to the incredible vibe of this year’s event: the Expo was in New York City — now, can that *ever* be bad? 😉
I went up on trusty ole Amtrak the night before expecting to have a good trip, a productive trip, a pleasant trip…
What I had was a *great* trip.
I launched my venture on Thursday evening with dinner a-deux with my good buddy, uber talented historical romance novelist, Kathryn Caskie. We chose Zagat top pic, Gotham Bar & Grill on 12th in The Village. Determined not to be idle, we mapped out our Expo plans over a lovely bottle of shriraz and top tier (aka yummy) fare of hard shell crabs (me) and filet (Kathy).
Friday was a “work” day. After a short waiting stint sipping designer H20 in the Green Room (and no, I didn’t see anyone terribly famous, more’s the pity), I kicked off with a traditonal autographing for my new historical romance release, Enslaved (Medallion press). Later, I had midday coffee talk with talented historical fiction author, Will Hutchison, and then an in-booth signing at the Harlequin booth during “Sexy Hour” with Cara Summers and bestselling author, Carly Phillips.
But there’s more…
That night, Kathryn Caskie (Kathy to me) and our good buddy, historical romance author, Sophia Nash, met up at New York’s famous Webster Hall for The Rock Bottom Remainders “Still Younger than Keith” charity concert. At the VIP reception to kick off the concert, we clinked glasses with literati heavyweights Mitch Albom, Frank McCourt, Amy Tan, Stephen King, and my personal fav, humor columnist turned children’s author, Dave Barry. If you have two ticks, check out our candid pics on my Snapshots page. And yes, consider the rumor confirmed, Dave Barry really did pronounce the three of us “hot.” I believe the word “babes” was also used,” but well, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble at home. 😉
As you may expect, all this autographing and gladhanding can really wear a woman down. Fortunately, I got to unwind on Saturday evening at the Harlequin party held at a swank Midtown club. Harlequin always does it right and this year’s fete was no exception. Guests were greeted at the door with champagne and chocolates and the night got even better from there. Over canapes and champagne (yes, more), I caught up with authors Jane Porter (“Flirting with Forty”), Candice Poarch, and Rebecca York as well as had the opportunity to say thank you to Harlequin’s talented and hardworking editorial, marketing and sales staff.
Come Sunday, all this nose-to-the-grindstone hard work was really taking its toll. The chocolate consumption alone had me at “sixes and sevens” as Sophia might say in one of her Regency-set historicals. I wound down with a signing of The Haunting in the Romance Writers of America booth at BEA along with Niki Burnham (“Goddess Games”) and Silhouette author, Anna DePalo.
A few days of post-Expo R&R in the West Village set me to rights. Come mid-week, I was homebound on that Amtrak train, maybe not exactly fresh as a daisy but certainly touting a big ole smile.
Okay, so enuf about me. Anybody else go to BEA? As they say, inquiring minds…
Hope