April 2006

The first official day of spring, March 20, turned out to be a wet and snowy blast of winter weather around here, and it's been cold ever since then. And just when I was really starting to get jazzed for the change in season! Well, April is here with another promise to warm up soon.

Recommendations from my personal reading this past month include UNPLUGGED (Dell, 3/06), Lois Greiman's fun sequel to her hilarious mystery UNZIPPED (Dell, 6/05), which features sassy psychologist Chrissy McMullen and hunky cop Jack Rivera. Their adventures (and dysfunctional relationship) will continue in spring 2007 with UNSCREWED. Oh, I can't wait!

My other recommendation is NIGHTLIFE (Random House hardcover, 3/06) by Thomas Perry, a compelling suspense with right-on narrative, witty dialogue, fascinating characters and a riveting plot.

If you haven't learned by now, you don't use anything but a lead pencil and you keep a big eraser handy (like I do) when writing down info about release dates for upcoming books by favorite authors. Several cases in point follow.

Shortly after my column was posted last month, I got an e-mail from Suzanne Brockmann announcing that the release date for INTO THE STORM, the 10^th installment in her Troubleshooters series featuring Navy SEAL Mark Jenkins, has again been changed. Originally, it was scheduled for the end of November, then that date was bumped to October 31. Now the date has been changed again -- to August 15. Suz says, "I've got to confess, moving the release to the summer is slightly odd. This is a book that's set in December in Northern New Hampshire. Part of it takes place during a huge blizzard. But maybe INTO THE STORM will be fun to read while sweltering on the beach. I hope so!"

And please make note of these date changes. The next Nora Roberts hardcover, ANGELS FALL (Putnam), has been moved up to July 11, 2006, while the date for the next J. D. Robb hardcover, BORN IN DEATH (Putnam), has been shifted back to November 7, 2006.

Jayne Ann Krentz has two new books coming in May written under her pseudonyms. First is SECOND SIGHT, an Arcane Society novel by Amanda Quick, set to go on sale May 9 in hardcover from Putnam. Then on May 30, readers can return to the futuristic world of Harmony when GHOST HUNTER (Jove, mass market), by Jayne Castle, will be available for the first time in bookstores. Another book to watch for goes on sale May 1, when HQN will release a 3-in-1 trade-size edition of Jayne's early Ladies and Legends trilogy: The Pirate (Harlequin Temptation #287, January 1990), The Adventurer (Harlequin Temptation #293, March 1990) and The Cowboy (Harlequin Temptation #302, May 1990). This new volume is titled (appropriately!) THE PIRATE, THE ADVENTURER & THE COWBOY, and the neat twist is that the heroine of each story is a romance writer. I have the originals on my keeper shelf and can't wait to obtain this new volume.

DON'T LOOK DOWN, the collaboration between romance novelist Jennifer Crusie and techno-thriller writer Bob Mayer, goes on sale April 4, 2006, from St. Martin's in hardcover. Not only did they deal with the male/female difference in perspective, but Bob is used to a large body count and his characters don't usually get married after having sex -- they die. Written in the he-said/she-said style, it's a fast, furious, fun adventure with lots of romance. The unique approach used to attract both male and female readers is a chick-lit style dust jacket, while the hardcover underneath features a military camouflage design. Seems they Jenny and Bob had so much fun with their writing partnership, we can look forward to another book from them, AGNES AND THE HITMAN, due in July 2007. For more detailed info on DON'T LOOK DOWN and how it came to be, check out the new web site -- www.crusiemayer.com -- developed specifically for this purpose.

Pamela Clare's second contemporary romantic suspense, HARD EVIDENCE, is the sequel to EXTREME EXPOSURE and will be released November 2006 by Berkley Sensation. HARD EVIDENCE tells the story of an investigative reporter swept up in the most dangerous story of her life after she witnesses a murder. Her investigation brings her in contact with an FBI agent on the heels of a dangerous human trafficker. Characters from the first book -- Reece, Kara, caustic editor Tom Trent, Horny Holly and the rest of the I-Team at The Denver Independent -- make return appearances in this new story.

Madeline Hunter is putting the finishing touches on her next novel, which is scheduled for publication November 2006. Titled RULES OF SEDUCTION, she'll be leaving the world of The Seducer series and introducing a new group of characters. Madeline says, "Developing a new world has been exciting and a little frightening, with discoveries on every page as I write. At the center of this new world is an aristocratic family of tremendous wealth and success and a gentry family that's barely surviving. The lives of these families are intertwined due to secrets, deceptions, friendships and honor."

Deidre Knight will follow up her debut paranormal romance, PARALLEL ATTRACTION (Signet Eclipse, 4/06) with the October 2006 release of PARALLEL HEAT and then PARALLEL SEDUCTION in April 2007.

With a new book on the way, Gaelen Foley is pleased to announce that she also has an all-new website. She invites everyone to stop by and take a look at the excerpt from HIS WICKED KISS, the long-awaited tale of Lord Jack Knight, the black sheep of the Knight family, set to go on sale April 25, 2006, from Ballantine.

In March, C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp, authors of the acclaimed HUNTER'S MOON (Tor, 2004) and MOON'S WEB (Tor, 2005), started a new paranormal series with TOUCH OF EVIL. Tor's press release states, "Eschewing recent trends, the vampires in TOUCH OF EVIL are not sexy or funny. In fact, this special form of vampirism is spread by a parasite in saliva, causing those bitten to become part of the ‘Thrall,' a hive entity led by queens." And, yes, it does have a romance incorporated into these unique paranormal aspects.

Speaking of paranormal series (which seem to be the craze right now!), Kelley Armstrong will continue her Women of the Otherworld next month (May 2006) with BROKEN (Spectra). Then in October 2006, look for EXIT STRATEGY (Spectra), which will feature a female hitman.

Book #13 in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series will be DANSE MACABRE and is set for release June 27, 2006. As the book opens, Anita is in turmoil over whether or not she's pregnant. And just who's the father? Ah, sounds like the makings of a great plot!

K. Celeste Bryan has signed a new contract with SynergEBooks, which reissued her first book, MOON OF THE SLEEPING BEAR, in both e-book format and mass market paperback last month. Then in May, they'll release the sequel, MOON OF THE LONG NIGHT, in both formats. Then SOJOURN WITH A STRANGER will come out six weeks after that in both e-book and paperback. She's also recently signed two contracts with Whiskey Creek Press for books titled SKY TINTED WATER and BENEATH A CRIMSON SKY. And she's working on a paranormal historical tentatively titled Martha's Journey. This is one busy writer!

Tyler Blackwood has asked me to let her anxious fans know that she has a new romantic fantasy set to go on sale May 17, 2006, from the small press Zumaya Publications. RIANA UNVEILED is part of a series and tells the story of Riana's search for her son, Willis, who's been stolen by the ancient Guardians of Sadaar. She enlists the aid of a shape-shifter who's destined to be her forever-mate. Their perilous journey to find Willis reveals a terrible, hidden secret and a plan to open the gates of hell.

June 2006 has quite a few exciting things to offer readers, so watch for these books:

Julia London starts a new Regency-era series with the release of THE HAZARDS OF HUNTING A DUKE (Pocket Star). Dubbed the Desperate Debutantes trilogy, it features three aristocratic young women who must resort to some clever and desperate schemes to maintain their social status after their stepfather takes off with their fortune.

Then Mariah Stewart's fourth and last book in her Truth series, FINAL TRUTH, will be released in hardcover from Ballantine. Also in June 2006, Mariah's final book in her Dead series, appropriately titled DEAD END, will go on sale.

Laura Levine's quirky free-lance writer/amateur sleuth Jaine Austen returns with another mystery to solve in the hilarious book titled THE PMS MURDER (Kensington hardcover).

Cindy Gerard continues her hard-hitting, suspenseful Bodyguards series with the romantic suspense OVER THE LINE.

Ed Gaffney's SUFFERING FOOLS (Dell) brings back the characters from his first book, PREMEDITATED MURDER, for another explosive murder trial.

And Mary Jo Putney brings us a special touch of magic in her newest Regency romance, THE MARRIAGE SPELL (Ballantine hardcover).

In July 2006, Hope Tarr returns after a four-year absence with VANQUISHED (Medallion Press). Set in 1890s London, this book is the launch for her first trilogy, The Men of Roxbury House, about three boys who meet at a Quaker-run orphanage and become lifelong friends. (Other titles are SEDUCED, set for release in 2007, followed by UNTAMED.) Hope's last book was TEMPTING (Jove, 9/02), and she tells me that Simon and Christine (the couple from TEMPTING) are secondary characters in VANQUISHED. Readers should be interested in seeing them 20-some years later as a happily married couple. And for you who don't read historical romance, she's also writing sexy contemporaries for Harlequin's Blaze line. The first (as yet untitled) is a Christmas book due out December 2006.

See you next month...Tanzey