October 14…. A day for most which will go by with no real meaning other than being a regular day in the year but for us at Realms it holds a bit more than that. Why? I hear you ask…. I’ll tell. Once my sister had an idea, her and me with a passion for reading books had of course our chats and fun discussing the books, but as my sister got into the book-anatics-thing on the internet an idea came to fruition, why not start a website with forum, discussing the one thing we love most. She discussed it with me and had one problem, she was not really into the technical side of making a website, tadada it was like the universe combined our ‘powers’ as I was a bit home in website-building, at that point I had worked on the administration of a web-design company for two years doing odd bits and pieces on websites and getting to know the technical inns and outs. Of course we both got excited and henceforth Realms On Our Bookshelves came to be a daily term in our phone-conversations. Through this we came to know many great people of whom Marissa and Pearl became dear friends of us.  

Early this year, the totality of building the website we had going grew a bit over our head. Our lives changed and as so many great authors got to our attention the website building was no longer a one girl job. The internet-community changed as well, instead of website/forum, blogging became the HOT thing and after discussing this over with Marissa and Pearl (whom beside our friends were steadfast reviewers of ROOB) we decided to change format and make it the four-ROOB-girl thing we have going today.

Throughout the past four years of knowing each other on the digi-world and outside that in real life we came to know us four as:

Leontine is wickedly fun, loyal, a bit of a scatterbrain and somewhat of a drama queen
Marissa, caring, chaotic, historical lover of the first order, smart but with her bridget jones moments (which is hilarious for us) and we came to know her as a musical encyclopedia
Natascha tends to be a bit of a wallflower, tell-it-like-it-is attitude but with a very big heart, creative, funny and has a passion for writing
Pearl is a busy-bee, talkative: always open for a chat about everything, sweet and caring

To add some spice to the post here are some great anecdotes from our time together:

Leontine – Staphorst meets the ROOB posse
Marissa- Triple A’s sexy alpha male to the rescue

Is it four years already?? Time flies when you have fun…

Ok today we talk about some of the funny things that happened to the ROOB gals over the years, there are really too many Bridget Jones moments to pen them all down here. We all know each other through the Internet, but I can remember the very first time I met Leontine in the flesh. I was picking her up for a bookfair in Rotterdam, she opened her door and the very first thing she said to me was: “Hi, you look so different than I thought you would.” “Well hello to you too Leontine!” After that we chatted about everything and nothing like we have known each other for years and that has never changed. The whole Staphorst affair and the word “sophistication” still make me smile when I think back of the memorable coffee-stop we made in that little town, but I picked another story to tell. So here it goes and you are forewarned, I am not a good storyteller.


What else to say, except that I hope that ROOB will be around for many more years and that I cherish my friendship (on the Internet and IRL) with Leontine, Pearl & Natascha. #raising my glass# To many more laughs, book & girl talk and embarrassing moments! Love you gals!

XOXO
Marissa

Once upon a time we: Pearl, Marissa and I were going to Natascha for an overall meeting and to celebrate her 30th birthday. Because Natascha lives about a 3 hour drive away from the rest Marissa was all over the music selection for the road trip. Truly, she has an inner DJ for information about songs, bands and trivia information about them. She was in to the songs that were so wrong they actually sounded right, some of her playlist:


Right Said Fred – I’m too sexy
Boney M – Rivers of Babylon
Matthias Reim – Verdamt ich lieb dich
Marianne Rosenberg – Ich bin wie Du
Opus – Life is Life
Roberto Jacketti & the scooters – I save the day
Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers – Islands in the stream
Sabrina – Boys, boys, boys

As much was from the 70’s and 80’s the nostalgia was coursing through our veins, the clothes, teen-age years, the make-up, nothing was left unspoken as three very, but then really very “off key” voices were singing along. Or I could say, two voices were singing along and I was mumbling and extremely happy when I could sing along with the chorus of each song….my mind actually went blank with a few songs *eek*.

The car was eating away the miles and the music was jamming and it was halfway that we decided to take a break and go for coffee. Now what I’m about to tell next is told with all due respect for each and every religion! In the Netherlands we have our Sin Cities, really….love ‘em, hate ‘em, but you can’t go around them. To balance it we have a few villages in our country that have their own way of exercising their believes and are very…very…truly very strict in upholding the rules as stated within those beliefs. It is in such a town called “Staphorst” that we stopped for coffee, at first we didn’t even realize it but then we thought Staphorst bells started to go off big time. Full of giggles we entered an establishment where we were confronted with a crowd of grandpa’s and grandma’s. We sat down at a table and ordered our food and drinks. Up to then everything was under control and we were showing our best behavior! But this came crashing down so fast as we started to talk about books and books and…well erotic romance. I should’ve taken an example to Marissa and Pearl and censure my language but what can I say, I was excited, the passion for the topic evident in my voice and I had a few things to say. I think I can safely say that the three of us won’t be visiting that town any day soon because the people lunching and drinking their coffee definitely gave me the evil eye a few times while Marissa said: Sophistication Leo, where’s the sophistication??” Uhm, well... probably lost it along the way I guess LOL. If it got lost along the way then it evaporated as we got to the topic of anal behavior…this is in the context of compulsory behavior! That we all have got that one straight *wink* Pearl has got this about reading orders, she has to read books in order of release date and it doesn’t matter whether it is part of a series, trilogies or novels. Now I have got this myself and probably Marissa and Natascha, and a whole lot of readers with us about series. Reading the series and trilogies in chronically correct order so you can experience the full impact of the overall story. Pearl just takes it a step further and it is a unique quirk to her nature *we still love you Pearl!*. From this we got to Lora Leigh and her Breed series….do I need to say more. Breeds, Staphorst, and three women who just discovered these awesome erotica novels. Add my attitude to the mix and as I’ve said, Staphorst was more than relieved to see me go LOL

Of course we arrived at Ashleagh’s house full of smiles and giggles and had a blast!

After four years of sharing the love with each other for books and sharing an incredible friendship I can’t believe how much we changed since our tentative first steps in reading English books. Our yellow road brought us to Blogger, Twitter, Goodreads and Facebook. ROOB the website changed along with it. It allowed us to read and review fantastic authors but most of all those get-together’s as friends will be cherished the most. I toast to Natascha, Marissa and Pearl; girls, may we have many more anecdotes to tell once we reach our senior citizen years and our friendship still goes strong. To all those who we’ve come to know online, we love to share the passion for the romance genre and you’ve all made it a blast! Thank you!!!

Of course we had many more moments together but let’s not bring out the most spicy details just yet… But do not be too disappointed… we have a great contest for you in store:


Giveaway: To share in our love for the romance we would like to give one commenter a choice in book up to € 6.50 (six and a half euro's) and to where Book Depository Store ships! Winner will be announced on October 18th.

Enjoy our anniversary week ;-) We have Lora Leigh with a one on one interview with Leontine and Donna Grant over who gives her 411 on her MacLeod highlanders & still ongoing giveaways!

Warm wishes and happy readings,

Leontine, Marissa, Natascha & (from the sick-bay) Pearl

First a big thanks to ROOB for inviting me to blog. I’m so happy to be here, and am giving away a set of my books, Shadow Bound and Shadow Fall, to a lucky commenter.
First a question: When a person gives their life for something, it’s often considered the ultimate selfless act. So what happens if someone gives up their… death?

I can remember exactly when I was piecing out the ideas for the first book in my Shadow series, Shadow Bound. I was sitting on my bedroom floor, in pajamas, brainstorming. I had sticky notes. And I think I was talking to myself out loud. A mythology book was open and I recall passing an entry for “banshee”. Something clicked in my head and so I stopped there. The boundary between life and death has always interested me, and so using a banshee as my heroine had all sorts of possibilities.

But I still couldn’t get a handle on her. I needed to know more. I had to know how she came to be, how she was conceived. As a world-building exercise, I wrote what is now the prologue of Shadow Bound. You can read it here
 
In it, a mortal woman seduces a fae lord of Twilight, the land between the mortal world and the Hereafter. She names him Shadowman, but to other people he’s called the Grim Reaper, aka Death. His duty is to courier souls across his faery realm upon their deaths. Twilight is the place of magic, of nightmare and dreams.

Then I understood that my banshee, Talia O’Brien, has one foot in each world, and therefore has a unique perspective on both sides of the veil. Except Talia doesn’t know what she is; all she knows is that when she screams, the Grim Reaper comes. Shadow is her refuge; she can hide herself in it and blind others with darkness.

When Shadowman trespassed into the mortal world, he inadvertently let a demon, the Death Collector, cross as well. In the mortal realm, The Death Collector offers immortality to anybody who wants it. All a person has to do is give up their death (and their soul) to get it, becoming a wraith.

Enter Adam Thorne, Shadow Bound’s hero. His brother Jacob made this hideous trade. Jacob has become a monster and now has to feed on other human beings to retain any semblance of humanity. At first Adam wanted to save Jacob, but long years of work and misery have made him just want to kill him. But Adam can’t. Jacob is immortal. Adam needs somebody who can call Shadowman to cut Jacob out of the world—he needs Talia. He gets a lot more than he expected. A sleeping beauty and a badass rolled into one. And watch out when she screams. You can read more about Adam and Jacob in a special prequel excerpt here
 
I sold Shadow Bound out of a contest. When I spoke to my future editor, she told me about a new program for debut authors that the publisher was initiating—Dorchester’s Publisher’s Pledge. I was very honored that Shadow Bound was selected for this program. First, the program includes a letter from my editor in the front matter of my published book. It also includes a money-back guarantee to readers, encouraging them to try a new author. I was thrilled to be included, and utterly blown away when she also made the second book in the series, Shadow Fall, a Publisher’s Pledge title too.

The second book in the series, Shadow Fall, centers on Custo Santovari, a character who was introduced in Shadow Bound. Well, tortured is more like it. And he’s tortured some more in his own story as he tries to save Annabella, a ballerina who has lured a wolf out of Twilight. Annabella is about to make her debut as the principal dancer in Giselle. But as in a dream, the story of her ballet transcends to fairy tale and is enacted both on the stage and in fae Twilight. She is seduced by the magic, and yet must master it.

Here are the back cover blurbs for both books:

 

Shadow Bound


Death

Some people will do anything to avoid it. Even trade their immortal souls for endless existence.

Wraiths

Secretly, inexorably, they are infiltrating our world, sucking the essence out of unsuspecting victims with their hideous parody of a kiss.

Segue

Adam Thorne founded the Segue Institute to study and destroy his monster of a brother, but the key to its success is held in the pale, slender hand of a woman on the run. There is something hauntingly different about Talia O’Brien, her unknowing sensuality, her uncanny way of slipping into Shadow.

Twilight

This is the place between life and what comes after—a dark forest of fantasy, filled with beauty, peril, mystery. And Talia is about to open the door.

 

Shadow Fall


Sacrifice

Custo Santovari accepted pain, blood, even death, to save his best friend. But a man with all his sins just isn't cut out to be an angel.

Mystery

One moment he's fleeing Heaven; the next, he's waking up stark naked in Manhattan. In the middle of a war. Called there by a woman who's desperately afraid of the dark.

Shadow

It gathers around Annabella as she performs, filled with fantastic images of another world, bringing both a golden hero and a nightmare lover.

Wolf

He pursues her relentlessly, twisting her desires even as she gives herself to the man she loves. Because each of us has a wild side, and Annabella is about to unleash the beast.

Author’s bio:

Erin Kellison is the author of the Shadow Series, which includes Shadow Bound and Shadow Fall. Stories have always been a central part of Erin Kellison's life. She attempted her first book in sixth grade, a dark fantasy adventure, and still has those early hand-written chapters. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English Language and Literature, and went on for a masters in Cultural Anthropology, focusing on oral storytelling. When she had children, nothing scared her anymore, so her focus shifted to writing fiction. She lives in Arizona with her two beautiful daughters and husband, and she will have a dog (breed undetermined) when her youngest turns five.

You can contact Erin though her website, http://www.erinkellison.com/ where you can also sign up to receive her newsletter.

****Giveaway****
International, begins 7-27 and ends 8-3-2010. Erin Kellison has been extremely generous and will giveaway both SHADOW FALL & SHADOW BOUND to one commenter. Leave a [meaningfull] comment to be entered and a way for us to contact you. 
 

eBook; 263 pages
Publisher: Carina Press, June 7, 2010
ISBN-10: 1426890024
ISBN-13: 978-1426890024
Genre: Historical Romance
Book: Book One in Napoleonic Series
Main Characters: Arie De Voss & Mathilda Heidel
On sale at: Carina Press

SYNOPSIS
Tormented by guilt. Haunted by scandal. Freed by love.

Austria, 1804
Eight years ago, Dutch composer Arie De Voss claimed his late mentor's final symphony as his own and became an icon. But fame has a price: fear of discovery now poisons his attempts to compose a redemptive masterpiece. Until a new muse appears, intoxicating and inspiring him...

Mathilda Heidel renounced her own musical gift to marry, seeking a quiet life to escape the shame surrounding her birth. Sudden widowhood finds her tempted by song once more. An unexpected introduction to her idol, Arie De Voss, renews Mathilda's passion for the violin--and ignites a passion for the man himself.

But when lust and lies reach a crescendo, Arie will be forced to choose: love or truth?

My latest historical romance, SONG OF SEDUCTION, is released by Carina Press this week, and I know that many writers and readers have had questions about Harlequin's brand new digital-first venture. I can only speak for my experiences, but I also dragged my lovely editor, Deborah Nemeth, to give us her point of view too.

I submitted SONG OF SEDUCTION to Carina on its first day open for acquisitions. The tagline "Where no great story goes untold" really caught my attention. For three years I'd tried finding a good home for my Austrian-set historical romance. Editors loved my voice and the characters, but the Austrian setting was a deal-breaker.

But Carina seemed different, with the full weight of Harlequin at its back to ensure the venture had a fighting chance. When Executive Editor Angela James offered to acquire SONG OF SEDUCTION (ROOB review) and make it part of the initial batch of Carina offerings for the June 7th launch, I was thrilled.

Working with Deborah Nemeth was also a thrill. She adored my story, which had so long been overlooked because of its unusual setting. Her editorial direction helped resolve a few pesky places that had been bugging me for ages. The romance is stronger because of her input.

To be honest, there's no telling how well all of this will go. Carina Press is, at its heart, an experiment. But they've taken a chance on my story and given me the tools to make it a success. If those same chances are being taken across the whole of Carina Press's literary offerings, then, as readers, we'll all in for a treat! I couldn't ask for more.

Now I'll turn it over to Deb!


I was thrilled to become one of Carina Press’s developmental editors. Harlequin is one of the savviest digital publishers out there, and as one of their imprints, Carina Press is fortunate to have a production team with members who have up to ten years of digital experience. I like working for smart people from whom I can continue to learn and grow, and you don’t get much sharper than Angela James, our executive editor.

And as much as I love romance, I enjoy having the freedom to acquire and edit in any genre, from straight mysteries and SFF to love stories that don’t have a traditional romance structure/ending. Carina gives authors this same freedom from genre constraints while enabling them to benefit from Harlequin’s publishing expertise.

With regard to acquisitions, I want to see strong, flawed characters who are passionate about their goals. I like stories to take off from the first page and mount to a grand finale, engaging my emotions, although with a mystery the engagement may be more cerebral. I acquire all heat levels from sweet to erotica, all lengths over 15k words. I'm open to most genres--anything but young adult, inspirational or super-gory horror (but there are other Carina Press editors who'll love to read your inspy or horror ms).

• I like mysteries to be clever, whether cozy or hard-boiled or procedural, with or without romantic elements.
• I'm seeking richly detailed, well-researched historical fiction and historical romance with dialogue that subtly conveys the period flavor while still being readable and natural-sounding. I'm wide open when it comes to time periods, settings and characters--centurions, knights, Saracens, Vikings, princes, artists, explorers, Moguls, concubines, mandarins, privateers, Regency bucks, cowboys, samurai, sheriffs, courtesans, bootleggers, squadron leaders.
• I'm looking for all sorts of SFF, from epic fantasies, space operas, and steampunk to paranormals featuring shifters, vamps, demons, witches, ghosts, psychics, djinn and fae.
• In a thriller/suspense novel I look for fast-paced action and plenty of plot twists.
• I enjoy both angsty women's fiction and lighthearted romantic comedies/chick lit.
• In a contemporary romance I like to see strong, well-structured conflict, something beyond a misunderstanding or a character's determination not to commit.
• I'm seeking multicultural fiction that explores the challenges posed by different traditions. A former resident of Puerto Rico, I'm particularly attracted to Latin cultures, but I'm interested in all types of heritages as well interracial romances and fiction depicting any immigrant experience.
• I'm open to GLBT fiction in all genres and heat levels.
• Genre blends are welcome: historical paranormal, m/m fantasy, paranormal suspense, and so on. I'd love to acquire a space opera, steampunk or historical mystery with a really cool sleuth to base a series on.

I accept direct submissions. Send your query in the body of an email and attach a full, polished ms and synopsis in .rtf or .doc files to deborahnemetheditor at gmail.com.
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About Carrie Lofty:
Born in California and raised in the Midwest, Carrie Lofty (official website) met her English husband while studying abroad--the best souvenir! Since completing her master's degree in history, she's been devoted to raising their two precocious daughters, managing Unusual Historicals, and writing romance. Also, look for her "Dark Age Dawning" trilogy of hot-n-dirty apocalyptic romances, co-written with Ann Aguirre under the name Ellen Connor. Nightfall kicks it off in June 2011, available from Berkley Sensation. You can catch up with Carrie on Twitter and Facebook.


About Deborah Nemeth:
Since Deborah Nemeth began reading before her fourth birthday and stops only when she absolutely has to, it was probably inevitable that she would major in English literature and eventually become an editor, a profession she's pursued for five years. As an utter bookslut, she loves to read all sorts of things, from SFF to mysteries to historical romance. Over the years she's lived in Ohio, Michigan, Chicago and Puerto Rico, although she spends most of her time in places such as nineteenth-century Bath or Middle-earth. Currently she lives in the Mid-Atlantic with her husband (a candidate for sainthood) and two beautiful daughters. You may follow her on Twitter.

***
It's giveaway / contest time again! Carrie Lofty is giving away a copy of Song of Seduction to one of our visitors, who'll leave a comment on this guestblog-post, telling us who you think are sexy Dutchmen. She made sure to say that links to pictures are highly encouraged!!!! We all love to ogle some man-candy ;-)

On June 16th, 2010 23.59h CET this giveaway will close and a winner will be picked with a random.org generator.
***

Apreantly I have to use Random.org for a fair drawing, so here goes...52 comment and the comment number who wins is

*drumroll please*


WINNER comment # 40: Ina said...

Hi there!

wow, ladies I like your posts more and more - ever thought about writing a book? I def would buy and read it!

congrats on the new blog - so far I really like it but I will spend more time here to be sure *gg*

wish you all the best,

Ina

Congratulations Ina, contact (contact button is on the right menu sidebar) us with your addy info and your books will get send to you ASAP!!