Author Kim Van Meter is a good friend of mine and writes for Superromance.  Her new book is coming out later this month (and is available NOW on eHarlequin.com!)  Please give her a warm welcome and read on to learn how to win a copy of KIDS ON THE DOORSTEP!

Where Were You When…

By Kimberly Van Meter

Lately the media has been flooded with news of celebrity deaths and while I hesitate to linger on such sad news, it got me to thinking. Celebrities touch our lives in different ways, from those who simply entertain us to those who make us wonder what planet they’re orbiting but when they die, it seems (if they were big enough celebs) their passing is big news.

And then it made me wonder…which celebrities have made an impact on me personally when they died. Now, I’m not your typical star watcher. I don’t have many fan moments and I don’t get star-struck easily but I do remember when Princess Diana died. I remember what I was doing; I remember crying. Why? I didn’t know her. We didn’t “lunch” and I certainly wasn’t on her speed dial. So why did her death affect me so viscerally? I don’t know. I still don’t have the answer. But all I can say is it did. I felt awful for the tragic circumstances of her demise and the way she seemed locked in a prison comprised of paparazzi and their intrusive camera flashes. I don’t usually feel much sympathy for celebrities when they cry about their privacy being invaded but I did feel awful for her.

Of course, the recent death of Michael Jackson has created a flurry of Internet activity, increased sales of his previous albums and a renewed interest in his personal life. I confess, I was mildly curious as to how his estate, which was rumored to be in serious debt, will be distributed. I’m also embarrassed to admit how interested I was to find out that Jackson did not actually father his three children. Oy.

My mom said she can remember where she was when President Kennedy was killed. My co-workers reminisced about the day they heard Elvis had died. Another coworker commented that she’d cried when she heard the news about John F Kennedy, Jr. and his unexpected death with his new wife.

So, in the interest of current events, here’s my question: what celebrity death affected you and why? Do you remember where you were when Princess Diana died? Are you lamenting the death of Farrah Fawcett? Why do you think we care about people we’ve never met? Share what celebrity tragedy affected you in some way and one lucky poster will receive a copy of my latest book, KIDS ON THE DOORSTEP.

This week I’ve been spending a lot of time sending official take down notices for my books that appear at digital piracy sites. And it’s not just books from epublishers, either. My NY print books are also available digitally, and those are being pirated, too.

Digital piracy is a crime. I write books, my publishers publish them, and people buy them. Unfortunately, pirates like to put them up on sites and offer them up in digital format for everyone to share. That’s not legal and it pisses me the hell off. Sorry, but I work my ass off to produce my work and I don’t work for free. To see my work put up on a website for thousands of people to download for free makes me a little sick to my stomach.

So in today’s blog post I’m going to give away e-books too. Only I’m going to BUY these e-books for five people.

Here’s what you have to do to win. Go to the Samhain Publishing website and look around at all the awesome books there, choose one you’d like to have and post the book title, author name AND the format you’d like the book in.

Please note these must be e-books, not print books.

I’ll choose five winners and post them tomorrow, and then I’ll be gloriously happy to BUY these e-books and present them to the winners.

Go forth and shop!

Hi everyone!  Happy Tuesday!

I have a question for y’all…

I just got finished watching season 1 of The Dresden Files on DVD (why, oh why, did they cancel it????)  And now I’m wondering how the books are.  I love the show, and would like to see how the story all plays out.  So has anyone read the books?  Which one do I start with?

1. Okay, hi, where did June go?  Seriously?  Can I have it back please?

2. Why did they have to bring the dog onto Army Wives?  Because now I’m all worried that something will happen to the dog.  I can’t watch movies with dogs, because even if I know the dog will be okay, there’s still that moment when you think, something’s going to happen to the dog.

3. As I mentioned on the Writeminded Loop, I’m enjoying the Sookie Stackhouse series immensely.  And I found the last few episodes of True Blood Season 1 online and I watched them.  Definitely different than the books, but I think I like it.

4. I downloaded like a million Michael Jackson songs from iTunes this weekend.

5. I continue to watch Daisy of Love, after I swore I wouldn’t.

6. The memoir Perfection annoyed the crap out of me, although I read it in one night.

7. I’ve read all the books I was supposed to save for my August vacation.

8. My UPS driver hasn’t had to stop at my house in four days.  I know he’s out there somewhere, crying.

Go ahead, share some randomness from your life.

TAKEN BY SIN, the 4th book in my Demon Hunter series, is now available!

I’d post the cover by the image uploader doesn’t work for me for some reason. *sigh* But the cover is on the side of the blog. It’s green and oh so awesome!

HE’S THE SEXY DEMON HUNTER WHO JUST SAVED HER LIFE. NOW SHE’S ABOUT TO SHOW HIM WHAT SALVATION’S REALLY ABOUT.

Isabelle can see the passion roaring inside Dalton—and it both frightens and arouses her. Is Dalton her enemy or her savior? All she knows is he’s beyond seductive and igniting all sorts of conflicting feelings. All Dalton knows is that they’re both in big trouble—hunted by demons and demon hunters alike in an all-out war for survival. As their pursuers close in and passion overtakes them both, Dalton must make a stunning choice…. Caught between sin and salvation, between darkness and light, will he make the ultimate sacrifice to save the woman he loves?

More on the Demon Hunters series here

You can find it at your local bookstore, and if you can’t they can order it for you. You can also order it online at at:

Borders

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Chapters

Random House website

Or find it at your local Independent Bookstore via Indiebound

Taken By Sin is also available in ebook at:

The Sony Store

Amazon Kindle

Fictionwise

Books On Board

Or your favorite e-tailer

I hope you enjoy it! Please be sure to come by and let me know what you think :-)

A DEMON ENSLAVED
Lore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master’s assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister’s life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he’ll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission.

AN ANGEL TEMPTED
Idess is an earthbound angel with a wild side sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She’s determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary—even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender.

Torn between duty and desire, Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again—hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction.

Squee!!!! I’m so excited! I love that cover!

Well…obviously, I’m back online! We’re all moved to Wisconsin now, and getting settled into our new house. Yesterday I got us all signed up at the YMCA (which is in my backyard, literally,) and my son and I went for a bike ride to the local ice cream shack. I figured we worked off the calories!

Hope everyone has enjoyed the beginning of summer — I know I have, now that we’re in a state where summer is actually tolerable!

Have you got any upcoming fun plans?

Thanks to everyone for playing and for all the really sweet messages! You guys are the absolute bestest.

Because I took so long in posting, I’ll give everyone until midnight Monday night to claim their prizes.  If you won an ebook, drop me an email at mayaATmayabanks.com and even if you told me in the comments what format, please let me know again. ALSO and this is important, please also give me the title just so I don’t have to come back and hunt down the post.  You’ll get your ebook SO much faster if you tell me what title you won and what format you want. It’s as easy as hitting reply and attaching at that point ;)

If you won a print book, I need you to email me at mayaATmayabanks.com and tell me what book you won and also provide your mailing address so I can get those shipped out before I leave on Wednesday.

Here are the winners!

Kira Daniels—Sweet Persuasion print comment #5

Amy Mowers—For Her Pleasure print  comment #16

Lois—The Tycoon’s Rebel Bride comment #51

Sandi—Sweet Persuasion comment #1

Connie—Sweet Surrender comment #15

EBOOKS

Christine—Reckless comment #7

Elaine R—Amber Eyes comment #37

Elizabeth Moore—Into the Mist comment #62

Noelle—Stay With Me comment #70

Terri—Long Road Home comment #78

Melody Miller—Long Road Home #45

Lisa J—Seducing Simon comment #48

Penny—Seducing Simon comment #52

Karin—Amber Eyes comment #55

ADH—Her Majesty, My Love comment #69

I’m drawing names now. Don’t worry, will give until Monday night to claim since I flaked on getting the winners up this morning.

Back soon with winners!

Sometimes I hear twisted people talking about how amazing it is to get up with the sun in the summertime…to listen to the birds welcome the day, to see the sunrise color the sky, to smell and feel the fresh morning air, etc.

Frankly, it’s all lost on me.  I’d much rather be sleeping, dreaming, snuggling, lazing, rolling over and shutting my eyes again, relishing that heavenly moment when I realize, “I don’t have to get up yet!”

For me, the magic of summer is all about the evenings.  Some cases in point:

Circa 1989:  camping with a small group of best friends, sitting around a fire not for warmth but to grill weenies and roast S’mores, drinking ice cold beer, staying up till all hours, trading secrets and sarcasm in equal parts.

Circa 1994:  perching on the concrete wall of our backyard in New Mexico with my new-ish hubby, the Rio Grande valley stretching out for miles, watching the sunset streak an awe-inspiring palette across the huge southwestern sky, with a line of four dormant volcanos silhouetted in the distance, plotting adventures and the future of our dreams.

June, 2009:  relaxing on the deck at midnight with my old-ish hubby, listening to the symphony of nature’s summer night soundtrack, eating chocolate chip cookies, talking about whatever comes to mind — the day, the kids, jobs, possibilities.

Maybe it’s just that I’m a sucker for hanging out with the people I love and talking endlessly.  Maybe it’s that I’m one of those people who, when I wake up in the morning, regardless of the hour, you’ll be lucky to get a non-hostile grunt from me.  Forget full sentences.  For me, the nights win, hands down.

Your turn to weigh in.  Do you prefer to usher in a new day along with the rising sun, or are you a fellow nightowl who likes to sign off the day in the wee hours, when the rest of the world has turned in?

So #2 son is visiting from California. We only get to see him once a year, in the summer, because he’s a teacher. And getting him together with #1 son? I just set back and watch the fireworks.

It amuses me because my ‘boys’ are 30 and 27. But put them in a room together again? They’re 10 and 7 again. Or 13 and 10. Or whatever. They’re children. Bickering and sniping at each other. Amuses the hell out of me to watch them go at each other verbally as if they’re still arguing over a G.I. Joe or Star Wars action figure. My daughter in law mouthed O-M-G to me last night while they were arguing. I just smiled. It warmed my heart, actually, took me back to their childhood and vivid memories splashed in front of me when they would play together, and yes, fight together.

Those times passed so quickly. I know everyone says that, and when your kids are little and arguing and you want to knock their heads together and you wish they’d hurry the hell and grow up? Suddenly…they do. So I loved watching them together last night, because those moments are few and far between these days, and I enjoy every moment.

Sunday is Father’s Day and my 20 year old stepdaughter will be here, and she loves to get in the mix with her brothers. She’ll do a little verbal sparring with them, and I enjoy that just as much. She didn’t grow up with these guys, but she loves having brothers now, and they love her. So how do they show they love her? By torturing her and insulting her, of course. *rolls eyes*

But it reminds me of when I get together with my brother and sister. We love each other, but we show it by throwing insults, not sweet words. We reminisce by going back over all the horrible things we used to do to each other. And then we laugh.

Ahhh…family. I do love them so.

So are your family get togethers like this, or are they all love and sunshine and hugs? (Heh…bet a lot of them aren’t.)