LADY AND THE VAMP
by Michelle Rowen
April 2008 – Forever, an Imprint of Grand Central Publishing

She fights.
Janie Parker’s a supernatural assassin—not by choice, but what’s a girl gonna do? The only thing standing between her and decapitation at the hands of her hellish boss is a magical artifact called The Eye. To get it, all Janie has to do is find a dark, broody vampire named Michael Quinn and take it. Easy, right? Except if Quinn keeps kissing her that way, she just might lose her head…in more ways than one.

He bites.
Former vampire hunter Michael Quinn is determined to become human again. If he grabs hold of The Eye and makes a wish—then boom, everything’s good with the world. But now Quinn has a sassy tagalong with a long, delectable neck and orders to stake him on sight. He just hopes his first bite won’t be Janie’s last moment on earth…

Excerpt: www.michellerowen.com/latv_chap1.htm

ABOUT MICHELLE ROWEN

Waldenbooks bestselling author Michelle Rowen is a self-confessed bibliophile, reality TV junkie, and is well known for making a mean pot of Kraft Dinner. Her novels for Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books) include the Immortality Bites series: BITTEN & SMITTEN (2007 Holt Medallion winner for Best First Book), FANGED & FABULOUS, and LADY & THE VAMP, as well as the standalone paranormal romance, ANGEL WITH ATTITUDE. Under the pseudonym Michelle Maddox she has written COUNTDOWN (August ’08) for Dorchester Publishing’s new and exciting SHOMI line of “speculative” romance novels. Michelle lives in Southern Ontario, and is currently hard at work on her next fantastical novel.

REVIEWS

“I loved Lady & the Vamp! Michelle Rowen has again successfully written a funny and highly entertaining vampire story…I can’t wait for book four of this series!”
– Armchair Interviews

“Lady & The Vamp is a fast paced and entertaining read. Its light comic style effortlessly pulls the reader along for a ride…dishing up romance and laughs along the way.”
– LoveVampires.com

“This book was great fun. Janie and (Quinn) are a breath of fresh air…you’ll be laughing and rooting for them both from the very beginning.”
– Fresh Fiction

“Excitement, a strong, character driven, intense plot, and wicked humor keep this story racing… As usual, Ms. Rowen delivers a winning story. Enjoy it. No fooling.”
– Huntress Romance Reviews

“4 stars! Fans will appreciate the light tone, the smooth and swift narration… throughout the third book of Rowen’s Immortality Bites series.”
– Romantic Times BOOKreviews

Website: www.michellerowen.com

Hey all,

I’ll be heading home from NY tomorrow. The trip was awesome! I’ll share more when I get back.

In the meantime, I was given a couple ARC’s for a new book by Theresa Rebeck called Three Girls and Their Brother.

Book Description
Now that it’s all over, everybody is saying it was the picture–that stupid picture was behind every disaster. . . .

They may be the granddaughters of a famous literary critic, but what really starts it all is Daria, Polly, and Amelia Heller’s stunning red hair. Out of the blue one day, The New Yorker calls and says that they want to feature the girls in a glamorous spread shot by a world-famous photographer, and before long these three beautiful nobodies from Brooklyn have been proclaimed the new “It” girls.

But with no parental guidance–Mom’s a former beauty queen living vicariously through her daughters, and Dad is nowhere to be found–the three girls find themselves easy prey for the sharks and piranhas of show business. Posing in every hot fashion magazine, tangling with snarling fashonistas and soulless agents, skipping school and hitting A-list parties, the sisters are caught up in a whirlwind rise to fame that quickly spirals out of control.

When Amelia, the youngest of the three–who never really wanted to be a model in the first place–appears in an Off-Broadway play, the balance of power shifts, all the pent-up resentment and pressure comes to a head, and the girls’ quiet, neglected brother reaches a critical point of virtual breakdown. And against the odds, even as the struggle for fame threatens to tear the family apart, the Hellers begin to see that despite the jealousy, greed, and uncertainty that have come to define their relationships, in the celebrity world of viciousness and betrayal, all they really have is one another.

Narrated in four parts, from the perspective of each sibling, Three Girls and Their Brother is a sharp, perceptive, and brilliantly written debut novel from an acclaimed playwright.

About the Author
THERESA REBECK’s plays include Bad Dates, Omnium Gatherum (a Pulitzer finalist), The Scene, and Mauritius, which won Boston’s prestigious IRNE and Elliot Norton Award and premiered on Broadway in 2007. Rebeck has also won the Peabody, the Writer’s Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama, the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award, the National Theatre Conference Award, and the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award. She holds a Ph.D. from Brandeis University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

* * * * *

I’ve got two ARCs, so shout out if you’d like to toss your hat in for one.

TTYS!

NY update:

Sasha White and I arrived in NY at 5:30 PM Wednesday. We made it to the hotel simultaneously with Jordan Summers, so after we all got settled, we went out for dinner together. That was fun.

Thursday, I headed over to the Kensington offices for lunch with my editor, Kate Duffy. I hung out with her for 6 hours and learned the lovely news that Wal-Mart picked up the mass market re-release of ASK FOR IT next month! They bought a bunch, so *fingers crossed* they sell a bunch. *g* Also found out my next historical is scheduled for September 2009. I know that seems like a long ways away, but I’m really really excited about starting this new book, so I hope you find that it was worth the wait.

When I got back to the hotel it was dinner-time, so we went out to dinner — Sasha, Jordan, Delilah Devlin, Myla Jackson, and Susan Lyons. That was great fun, too! I really enjoyed it.

This morning I had breakfast with Shelley Bradley/Shayla Black and her awesome hubby. Then we picked up Sasha and headed over to the nearby Borders. They had lots of my books there — DON’T TEMPT ME, HEAT OF THE NIGHT, PASSION FOR THE GAME, A PASSION FOR HIM, PERFECT KISSES, and BAD BOYS AHOY!. I signed them all and they stickered them up for me. I heard from Shelley that both ASK FOR IT and BAD BOYS AHOY! were prominently displayed on a bestseller rack in the Dallas International Airport. How cool is that?

Later on this afternoon I head over to the Tor offices to meet the gang over there and pick up my editor, Heather Osborn. We’re going to attend the NINC conference reception this evening, then wander off to dinner somewhere. I’m looking forward to it! I always enjoy hanging out with her.

The rest of the weekend will be pretty mellow. There are a couple workshops/presentations here at the conference that I want to see, but I think I’ll actually get some writing done — like now — and I’ll go out with friends as the opportunities appear. My cab got in an accident on the way to the Kensington offices yesterday. OMG… As Kate says, if something can go whacky around me, it usually does.

I’ll keep you posted!

Hey All,

I’m leaving on a jet plane early early early tomorrow for New York. I’ll be back again on Monday afternoon, but I may be able to post pictures and stuff in between now and then.

Have a great rest of the week!

Hugs,
Sylvia

In addition to DON’T TEMPT ME releasing today, I just received a phone call from the phenomenal Linda Howard telling me “Mischief and the Marquess” — my novella in the PERFECT KISSES anthology — has been named a finalist for the RITA^© Award of Excellence!!!

Hey All,

The lovely and talented ladies over at the Fog City Divas blog invited me over for Q & A today in celebration of the release of DON’T TEMPT ME (today! Yay! It’s out today! *g*)

Stop by and say hi! I’m giving away a Marked coffee mug and autographed copy of winner’s choice from my backlist!

I posted this on the Brava Authors blog, but thought I’d share here, too!

Simon stood in the entryway of his home and pulled of his gloves one fingertip at a time, his movements deliberate and evenly paced. The action was meant to calm him, but it was taking too long. His breath heaved with his anger and his neck ached with tension.

Edward James had been visiting Lysette while she was “indisposed.” The man had stood in the window sans coat and waistcoat as if he were at home, his posture both defensive and possessive.

Simon had played this game before, coming to a head with a man over a desirable female. It was a diverting activity and Simon rarely had a true stake in the outcome. If he won the lady’s regard, the sex was wild and hot. If he lost it, he conceded with a smile and caught another.

This time, he was incensed. He would like to think it was only his pride that was bruised, but the truth was more disturbing than that. He had been happy those brief, passionate moments in the library. Not merely content or distracted but happy. To know that it had been nothing noteworthy to Lysette was a bitter realization to reach.

And then there was the feeling that he was losing his mind. He had disliked Lysette until last night. Now, suddenly, he felt murderous over the thought of her with another man.

Right now.

He growled and bounded up the stairs to his room, determined to change from his riding clothes to something more suitable for a night of bawdy delights. A hard fuck would get her out of his blood. Tomorrow he would be clear headed and ready to deal with her as he must.

“Mr. Quinn, you have a caller.”

Simon paused in the act of removing his cravat. He met his butler’s gaze in the mirror attached to the inside of his armoire door. “Who is it?”

“She would not give me her name, sir.”

Tensing at the news that his caller was female, he asked, “Would she happen to be blonde and beautiful?”

The butler’s mouth twitched. “Yes, sir.”

All of Simon’s simmering anger and frustration reheated to boiling. He yanked off the loosened linen and tossed it on the floor. She must have come haring directly after him in order to reach him so soon. Perhaps she realized how James’s show of propriety had ruined her plans for him, whatever they were.

For a moment, he debated sending her away without seeing her just to aggravate her in kind, but the thought of Eddington’s hold over him stayed his tongue. The sooner he knew what she was up to, the sooner he could be rid of her and away from the damnable lot of mischief makers.

“Where is his lordship?” he asked.

“Out for the evening, sir.”

With a long, rapid stride, Simon quit his chambers and descended to the lower floor. He was vaguely aware of his butler scrambling after him, but he paid the man no mind. He would not be needing tea or refreshments. If anything, he needed a stiff drink.

He paused on the threshold of the receiving parlor and found Lysette seated delicately on the edge of his yellow brocade settee. She was dressed in a bold burgundy gown, another color choice he would not have anticipated her to select but one he found potently alluring against her creamy skin. An elaborately decorated hat rested on the carved wooden side table and she twisted the strings of a matching reticule in her lap.

She was the picture of elegance and gentility…

…until she looked at him with the blue eyes that had lured him across a ballroom and into her arms.

Something akin to lightning raced across his skin. Burning. Tingling. Making him perspire. His heart rate picked up its pace and his chest lifted and fell unevenly.

As he entered, her expression of hesitation and wariness was swiftly replaced with heated feminine appreciation. Her gaze lowered to his bared throat and her tongue darted out to caress her lush lower lip.

When her eyes met his again, the raw, carnal hunger he saw in the crystalline depths hardened every muscle in his body, tightening his frame with coiling lust. A quarter of an hour ago he had wanted to strangle her. Now, he wanted nothing more than to lift her skirts and ride her to a screaming climax.

Again and again.

He growled and snapped, “Bah! You are not worth the trouble.”

Pivoting, he left the room.

* * * * *

Hitting shelves tomorrow…