(Early) Thursday 13 Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

I just found out that there is a wonderful initiative to celebrate book bloggers! I thought I'd participate in the Thursday 13 meme to tell you about it (even though the post is on Tuesday!)

The second annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week will take place September 14-18. Click on the link for all the details!

There have been several book bloggers that have really stepped in and made a difference as I published THE LIST. I've thanked several by nominating them, so if you're at a loss for who to enter in the "Best Book Blogger" contest, let me help. :)

First, clearly, I wouldn't say no to a nomination for http://thelistbook.blogspot.com for the "Best Published Author Blog", (or the "Best Design", the "Best Writing" or for you book reviewers "Best Book of 2009!") Be sure to nominate me here. I'm even suggesting that people write in a nomination in the "write in" space, for author bloggers to be recognized!




Here are 13 other wonderful bloggers to consider (and I've included their url so you can cut and paste into the nomination form, should you like):


1. Malena Lott, who also has her own book published, Dating DaVinci - edits Athena's Bookshelf (www.athenasbookshelf.com). She ran a marvelous interview with me there, which you may read again if you'd like. She also blogs under her own name at http://www.malenalott.com/Malena_Lott/Blog/Blog.html


2. Denise Robbins, who wrote It Happens in Threes and the new Killer Bunny Hill interviewed me on her blog, and I interviewed her on mine!


3. I received a wonderful review for THE LIST from Love, Romance, Passion (www.loveromancepassion.com) - where it's all romance books, all the time. It's a great place to go to find new romance/chick-lit reads.


4. Another outstanding review for THE LIST came from Coffee Time Romance (www.coffeetimeromance.com). Another great spot for honest opinions about romance novels to read (or not!)


5. Kay's Bookshelf (www.kaysbookshelf.com) also liked THE LIST when she reviewed it, and I've found her reviews to be most insightful. :)


6. #LitChat (http://litchat.net) is a wonderful Twitter chat about books that takes place a few times a week, but they also maintain a blog. That's where they posted the transcript of the one time I was a guest host. I find the chat, and the blog follow ups, to be a wonderful resource!


7. Kimber Chin (http://businessromance.com/)is another successful author and blogger, and has created quite a stir when it comes to romance e-books. :) She was a guest poster for my blog when I was on vacation.


8. While I concentrate on the romance genre, Richard Ridley (http://rwridley.wordpress.com/) is a great YA author and blogger. He has great things to say, and runs killer contests. :)


9. Then, there is my friend Steve Weddle, who blogs at http://steveweddle.squarespace.com/. If you're an author, he's a good guy to know. :) Plus, he's a fiction writer and poet, whose writing style is addictive!


10. My friend Sara Taney Humphries is a new paranormal author of the Amoveo Series and you can find her blogging over at http://amoveoromanceseries.blogspot.com.


11. Authors of I'll Have What She's Having Liz Fenton and Lisa Stienke write some of the most humorous and insightful blog posts, and not all of them are about their obsession with "The Bachelorette." Check them out at http://www.chicklitisnotdead.com.


12. One of the most ingenious pieces of blogging - that every author must know about - is the Authors Promoting Authors site. (http://authorspromotingauthors.blogspot.com)I've not run across another site that so openly gives authors free space to get their name out there!


13. This space is for your very own choice. Get out there and Google "book bloggers" and find your own favorite!




Home of the new Thursday 13

I'm BA-AACK!

Well, I had some airplane connection drama, so my trip was delayed by one day, and then we were delayed coming home, so I apologize for my extra absence. Did anyone notice? :)

I just want to thank those of you that welcomed Kimber Chin as guest blogger while I was gone, and I want to thank Kimber for giving the site a little life last week!

I sold a few books while on vacation, which means my hometown food bank will be getting some much needed aid. So I thank those of you who purchased as well. Tell others!

Thursday 13, By Guest Blogger Kimber Chin - Another List. :)

Candace, in Carmen's novel The List, has a list of 50 qualities she wants in a man. I'm happily married to the man of my dreams but my heroine, Maeve, in Invisible is looking. Well, actually she's NOT looking and that's part of the problem. But if she DID look, these would be her requirements (for fun, lets see how our hero Hagen stacks up)…



Thursday 13 – Maeve's List Of Requirements For The Perfect Guy

1) The perfect man knows the less said the better.
Hagen: Silence is to be filled with words, many, many, many words.


2) The perfect man accepts that there is no reason to discuss the past. It is over and done with.
Hagen: As an antique dealer, I know that the history of any object adds to its value. I apply the same concept to people. The more I know their past, the tighter our bond.

3) I don't like to be touched. The perfect man would respect that.
Hagen: Why would women be so soft and rounded if they weren't meant to be cuddled with?

4) Loyalty to people is everything. The perfect man would kill for me.
Hagen: I completely agree. I would do anything for my loved ones. That's why I'm spending three weeks with the most irritating woman on the planet.

5) The perfect man wouldn't want anything from me. Nothing at all.
Hagen: I share everything with my loved ones. What is mine is their's. What is their's is mine.


6) The perfect man would understand if I disappear for weeks at a time. He wouldn't ask questions.
Hagen: No freakin' way. I update everyone on where I am (and why). I expect the same.

7) My perfect man would love me.
Hagen: I made a mistake not marrying Isabelle. I plan to fix that. She's the perfect woman for me. Not some closed mouth green-eyed witch.

8) My perfect man would like to travel. Discretely. Without fuss.
Hagen: I like to travel. In my private jet. Big freakin' seats.


9) My perfect man wouldn't mind that I hang with sugar daddy mafia bosses and knife wielding vigilantes.
Hagen: My loved ones should be untouched by the unsavory sorts in the world. D--- it, I don't even cuss around them.


10) Sex is not a requirement for my perfect man.
Hagen: (Raises eyebrow) Do I even have to address this one? I'm a big guy with big appetites.


11) My perfect man wouldn't draw attention to himself.
Hagen: I'm built like a truck. I'm ugly as sin. I have more money than royalty. People staring is a given.

12) My perfect man would eat my cooking.
Hagen: See Number 10. I eat anything that's at all edible. (snorts) Not that the crazy woman cooks or anything.

13) My perfect man wouldn't leave me.
Hagen: The second we find the d--- deed, I'm never seeing this nutcase of a madwoman again

Named Love Romances And More's Rising Star for Spring 2009, Kimber Chin writes contemporary romances set in the sexy world of business. Her latest release, Invisible, is a contemporary treasure hunt romance through the world of hidden identities. A world where loyalty and love can be found in the most unexpected places. You can track her down on http://businessromance.com/ where she gives away her favorite eBooks, shares short stories, and posts photos of good looking men in business suits.

Home of the new Thursday 13

Guest Blogger, Kimber Chin

Note from Carmen: While I'm away on vacation, Kimber agreed to write a few guest posts. You'll adore her as much as I do, I'm sure.

Being True To Your Characters – Kimber Chin

I don't cuss. At all. Sometimes I say hell but that's about it. This isn't because I hold myself to any higher moral code than the profanity using world. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

No, I don't cuss because I am the second eldest of six kids and because I babysat during my teenage years to raise much needed cash. As any mom, big sister, honorary auntie will tell you, kids quite happily repeat everything you say and will then give you full credit for teaching them that wonderful word.

My characters cuss. Hagen, my hero in Invisible, deals with his grief by getting angry. Extremely angry men cuss. And he does. Often and loudly.

That's what being true to your character is all about. It is about writing them as THEY should be written, not as you'd like them to be. It is about having them do things you'd never in a million years consider doing. In Breach Of Trust, the hero Philippe, when in doubt, fires the woman he loves. Because he would. That's the type of man he is. I'd think about the situation more but he's used to making quick decisions and taking action on them.

Characters doing things I wouldn't normally is my benchmark for whether I'm feeling a character or not. I create situations. My characters should react to them. If I'm pulling the strings, making the character say things or do things, I know he or she isn't real enough to me. I know that if Maeve, my heroine in Invisible, is faced with a dangerous situation, she's going to turn tail and run. I know if she's asked a question, she'll give the shortest possible answer. I know that as surely as I know my own hubby would, like Hagen, give the longest possible answer. That's how real she is to me.

Of course, that's also why writers get so defensive about their characters. Their heroes or heroines are friends, family. But that's a whole other post.

Named Love Romances And More's Rising Star for Spring 2009, Kimber Chin writes contemporary romances set in the sexy world of business. Her latest release, Invisible, is a contemporary treasure hunt romance through the world of hidden identities. A world where loyalty and love can be found in the most unexpected places. You can track her down on http://businessromance.com/ where she gives away her favorite eBooks, shares short stories, and posts photos of good looking men in business suits.

Thursday 13, My To-Do List

I leave for Amsterdam and Belgium in 5 days! Woot! I'm excited for the trip, but I have lots of things to do before I go. You know this site is all about my book, THE LIST, but I now have a list of what I need to do before next Tuesday.



1.I have to schedule the posts for my GUEST BLOGGER! That's right, come back next Wednesday, and then Thursday for the Thursday 13 to meet Kimber Chin. She's also a romance novelist, and publishes her works in the form of ebooks. She's a hoot, and I think you'll enjoy her posts. You can learn more about her before-hand by visiting her Website.

2. I need to make sure my favorite PJs are washed and ready to go.

3. I also have to make sure that the rest of the clothes I want to take are laundered. I hate laundry, btw.

4. I need to exercise a bit more. Walking in Europe is exhausting. And I'm sure all the biking will take a toll on my bottom. I'm hoping that my recent walking and biking endeavors here at home will lessen the pain.

5. I need to make sure all our tickets and passports are ready to go.

6. I need to start my "packing pile." Days before actual packing begins, I start piling up items that I'm likely to forget.

7. I need to print out my nice Excel packing list - yes, I have a list for that, too. It includes little boxes for me to check off when I've packed a certain item.

8. I need to confirm with the pet sitter that Pooh Bear will indeed get fed, and the occasional head scratch.

9. Need to print out our Dutch travel words, so I can at least try. I know "thank you" and "hello" and "please" so far. And interestingly enough, "toilet" in Dutch is almost exactly like it is in French. Good think they speak English over there. However, I do like to try and not be the conceited American and make an attempt.

10. I need to decide which book I'm going to take for the plane. I have so many to read, but several are signed by the authors, so I don't want to risk losing them.

11. I have to finish my current book, TURN COAT, by Jim Butcher before I go. No problem, because it's so good. I'll likely be done quickly.

12. I need to keep checking the weather, and crossing my fingers for sunshine and very little rain.

13. I need to post about my new book selling plan. For every purchase of THE LIST between now and the time I return, I am donating part of the proceeds to my hometown food pantry. So, if you've been thinking of getting a copy of THE LIST, now's a good time!

Home of the new Thursday 13

Are We There Yet?

In 6 days, I will be off on my next travel adventure, this time, to Amsterdam and Belgium. So I won't be able to post on this here blog during that time.

But wait! My loyal readers (Renee) won't be left entirely in the cold. I'm going to have a guest blogger. Woot!

Her name is Kimber Chin, and she is also a romance novelist. She writes ebooks, and you can check her out before next week by heading over to her website. She'll even be guesting for the Thursday 13, and I think you'll find her engaging and fun.

So treat her well, throw her some comments and play nice. :)