Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Yeah, we’re a little behind. There was a metric ton of deals this month so we’re just highlighting the most interesting/quirky/absurd. If your book’s not here, it’s because your blurb didn’t stick out (for better or for worse).

Guillermo del Toro has a bizarre imagination if we judge by his film credits (Hellboy, The Orphanage, Pan’s Labyrinth) but I question if he’ll actually be writing these or if Mr. Hogan will be doing the brunt of the heavy lifting.
Director Guillermo del Toro trilogy of vampire thrillers, written with Chuck Hogan, beginning with THE STRAIN, about an invasion of New York by a vampiric virus, for publication in summer 2009, to David Highfill at William Morrow, by Richard Abate at Endeavor, with manager Gary Ungar of Exile Entertainment and attorney George Hayum (world).

A 15-year old? Is this for the new Harlequin YA line?
Michelle Gagnon’s TIGER GAME, in which the fifteen year-old daughter of a Dept. of Defense research scientist is kidnapped and held for ransom, and an FBI agent must find and save the girl, or risk dangering the lives of thousands of Americans, to Valerie Gray at Mira, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in November 2009, by Lukas Ortiz at the Philip Spitzer Literary Agency (World).

Tami Hoag switches publishers. Very interesting.
International bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including The Alibi Man and Prior Bad Acts, Tami Hoag’s DEEPER THAN THE DEAD, for publication in December, 2009, and a second novel, moving to Ben Sevier at Dutton (and NAL for paperback), by Andrea Cirillo at the Jane Rotrosen Agency (NA).

Hoag says, “I am at a point in my career where making a change to a new publisher is very exciting for me. I’m very pleased to be taking this step with the team at Dutton/NAL and I’m looking forward to a great and successful partnership.”

Anthologies seem to be a hot ticket right now. Does anyone but me think that “Red Garnier” sounds like a shampoo?
Red Garnier and Lorie O’Clare’s two novellas in a sexy law enforcement anthology, also featuring Alexis Grant and NYT bestseller Lora Leigh, to Monique Patterson at St. Martin’s, by Roberta Brown of the Brown Literary Agency.

Sarah McCarty has more book deals than I can count. First cowboys, now Highlanders.
Sarah McCarty’s Highlander medievals, to Susan Pezzack-Swinwood at HQN, in good deal, in a three-book deal, by Roberta Brown of the Brown Literary Agency.

It doesn’t say, but I’m going to guess that these are more SFF romances.
RITA award-winning author Susan Grant’s next two romances, to Tara Parsons at HQN, by Ethan Ellenberg (world).

This is a good example of a blurb that should have been interesting but is far too vague to tell what the book is about. You want us to get excited about your book? Throw in a few specifics.
Filmmaker Shandi Mitchell’s UNDER THIS UNBROKEN SKY, about an immigrant family making their way in a new world where small and often innocent acts have enormous and catastrophic consequences, to Claire Wachtel and Jonathan Burnham at Harper, in a good deal, at auction, by Sally Harding of The Cooke Agency on behalf of Suzanne Brandreth (US).

This is…weird. It kind of sounds like ‘Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego’ but…not.
New York Times bestselling author Deepak Chopra’s next novel in his Enlightenment series, in which a scientist will travel back in time and come face to face with key scientific and historical figures in a quest to unify theory, science, and religion once and for all — The Holy Grail of science, and the ultimate story of Enlightenment, again to Gideon Weil at Harper One, by Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group (world).

Anna Evans also writes for EC, I think. I’m not sure if this is paranormal or just rom/sus.
Anna Evans’s SHADOW KISS, in which a blind woman finds her flashes of sight are the key to solving a string of horrific murders, as well as the only thing that can save she and her lover from becoming the killer’s next victims, to Kerry Donovan at NAL, by Caren Johnson Estesen at Caren Johnson Literary Agency.

Can we put money on ‘enacting his revenge upon her’? What are the Vegas odds on this one?
Juliana Stone’s DARK REVENGE, about a missing woman who can’t remember her past and her former lover, a jaguar shifter and assassin, who must choose between discovering the truth or enacting his revenge upon her, to Esi Sogah at Avon, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Laura Bradford at Bradford Literary Agency.

A different twist on urban fantasy. Why aren’t there more ghosts in UF? Or am I just missing them all?
Stacia Kane’s UNHOLY GHOSTS, featuring a down-and-out witch and professional ghost-buster, who must fight a dark force powerful enough to frighten the dead, to Liz Scheier at Ballantine, in a three-book deal, for publication in late 2009, by Chris Lotts at Ralph M. Vicinanza (NA).

‘Uninvited Guest’ = Euphemism for Secret Baby Plot?
Hope Tarr’s untitled Scottish historical, the sequel to BOUND TO PLEASE, in which a laird and his lady find their Christmas holidays — and their marriage plans — thrown into turmoil by the appearance of an uninvited guest on Christmas Eve, to Brenda Chin at Harlequin Blaze, in a nice deal, for two books, for publication in December 2009 and summer 2010.

Okay, I kind of like the concept of a house-flipping mystery series.
Juliet Blackwell’s SECONDHAND SPIRITS, the first in a witchcraft mystery series, and IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK, the first in a house flipping mystery series, to Kerry Donovan at NAL, both in two-book deals, by Kristin Lindstrom at Lindstrom Literary Group (World).

Yet another book in which the original author is dead, but someone else is tapped to finish the series. I’m not quite sure if I’m 100% behind this trend. It almost smells like a money-grab.
Author of the Artemis Fowl novels, Eoin Colfer’s AND ANOTHER THING…, the sixth installment in the late Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, to Ellen Archer at Hyperion, and Helen Fraser at Penguin UK, for publication in October 2009, Sophie Hicks and Ed Victor of Ed Victor Ltd..

The hero sounds nice and tortured but I’m kind of stuck on the heroine. She’s half-angel half-mermaid and all I can visualize is a flying fish with long, lustrous hair and a seashell bra.
Joey Hill’s A MERMAID’S FIRE, in which the empathic daughter of an angel and a mermaid uses her gifts to connect with a dark spirit, who intends to capture and use her as ransom to escape his hellish world, to Cindy Hwang at Berkley, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency (NA).

I hope this is just a clever title because sex on the beach really isn’t sexy and involves way too much abrasive sand in places it should never, ever go.
Susan Lyons’s SEX ON THE BEACH, an exotic wedding in Belize turns into an erotic escapade for three unlikely couples who find lust - and maybe love - but can’t let anyone else know, to Allison Brandau at Berkley Heat, in a nice deal, by Emily Sylvan Kim at Prospect Agency (World).

I assume from the title this will be a dark romantic comedy…I think?
Laurie Brown’s THE DEATH OF BRIDEZILLA, when a wedding planner is accused of murdering her worst client, she must seek help from the one man she hoped to never see again, her ex-husband, to Claire Baldwin of Little Black Dress, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal, by Lucienne Diver of The Knight Agency (world).

Frost is performing very well for Avon even though they are far more UF than romance.
Jeaniene Frost’s two new titles in the bestselling Night Huntress series, and two new titles focusing on characters introduced in prior novels, to Erika Tsang at Avon, in a very good deal, by Nancy Yost at Lowenstein-Yost (world).

Ten bucks says that there’s a love scene involving a saddle and/or spurs.
Jaci Burton’s BOUND, BRAZEN, and BRANDED, in which three sisters find love and erotic adventures with hot cowboys on their family ranch, to Kate Seaver at Berkley Heat, in a two-book deal, by Kimberly Whalen at Trident Media Group (NA).

I can’t tell from the blurb if this is a continuation of Mayhue’s highlander setting or if it’s something else. Her last trilogy was time-travel but involved fae.
Melissa Mayhue’s DAUGHTERS OF THE GLEN series, the first featuring the Nuadian Fae who have discovered a path to dark powers on the Mortal Plain and a woman who, along with a determined Guardian, must save her younger sister from the Fae’s evil grasp, to Megan McKeever at Pocket, for publication in 2009, by Elaine Spencer at The Knight Agency.

Poor thing. Forced to take on two husbands. How she must suffer. I bet her toilet-seat is constantly up. But a clan of perfumers? I thought maybe that was a typo and it should have been a clan of performers. There was an Amanda Quick novel about a perfume-ist and the Iris Johansen series Wind Dancer that was about perfumes, but a whole clan of perfumers?
Kathleen Dantes’s QUEST, showcasing the journey of discovery of the first daughter of a clan of perfumers and the two men she takes as her husbands in order to save her clan, to Leis Pederson at Berkley Heat, in a two-book deal, by Roberta Brown of the Brown Literary Agency.

I have to admit that I find this one intriguing.
NYT bestselling author of Kabul Beauty School Deborah Rodriguez’s KABUL COFFEE CLUB, set amidst the turbulence and complexity of present day Kabul, in which six women, Afghan and foreigners, form unlikely friendships and find love and fulfillment in a coffee house in the middle of a war zone, to Jane von Mehren at Random House, in a significant deal, by Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates (world, excl. Germany).

It’s very wrong of me, but every time I see that title, I think of Austen Powers and Dr. Evil’s naked cat.
Robert Bennett’s MR SHIVERS, set in the Great Depression American West in the vein of Stephen King’s THE GUNSLINGER, to DongWon Song at Orbit, in a pre-empt, in a two book deal, by Cameron McClure at the Donald Maass Literary Agency (World).

More urban fantasy. Jeanne Stein usually has lovely covers.
Jeanne Stein’s next two novels featuring vampire bounty hunter Anna Strong, again to Jessica Wade at Berkley, by Scott Miller at Trident Media Group.

Could be cute. Is this contemporary?
Shirley Jump’s CHRISTMAS PRINCESS, after living a quiet, unassuming life for many years in a small town, a princess’s true identity is exposed when her kingdom is thrust into the world spotlight, to Jenny Hutton at Harlequin, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal, by Pamela Harty at The Knight Agency.

Another anachronistic sword-swinging medieval heroine. Sigh.
Peggy Brown’s medieval romance, when a young widow arrives in war-torn Normandy to make a political marriage at King Henry’s behest and is caught in dangerous adventures as she uncovers a treasonous plot and loses her heart to the English knight who rescues her and whose skill with a sword is even better than her own, to Alex Logan at Grand Central, in a two-book deal, for publication in Fall 2010, by Kevan Lyon at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (World).

I’m sure the movie will hit within a year.
Bestselling author Lauren Weisberger’s revenge novel set in the wake of an instant celebrity’s rising star, for publication in 2010, again to David Rosenthal and Marysue Rucci at Simon & Schuster, with Louise Burke at Pocket publishing in paperback, in a two-book deal, by Sloan Harris at ICM.

Did The Time Traveler’s Wife make time travel novels suddenly vogue again?
Ellen Meister’s THE SILVER LINE, pitched as Jodi Picoult meets THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, about a suburban mom who discovers, at the moment of her life’s greatest crisis, that she might be able to slip through a wrinkle in time and discover what her life might have been had she made different choices, moving to Rachel Kahan at Putnam, at auction, for publication in 2010, by Andrea Cirillo at Jane Rotrosen Agency (NA).

Horizontal collaborator = whore/spy?
James W. Nichol’s TRANSGRESSION, about a young woman persecuted in WWII France as a “horizontal collaborator” whose past haunts her in America, to Jeanette Perez at Harper, for publication in fall 2009, by Beverley Slopen at Beverley Slopen Literary Agency (US).

Jayne?
Cecelia Holland’s THE SECRET HISTORY OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE, the intriguing and sensual life of one of history’s most fascinating queens, to Susan Allison at Berkley, for publication in Spring 2010, in a two-book deal, by Susanna Einstein at LJK Literary Management (NA).

This sounds cute. I like the ‘kid table’ aspect.
LIKE THE RED PANDA and TO FEEL STUFF author Andrea Seigel’s THE KID TABLE, a YA take on Four Weddings and a Funeral, as told by a witty and wry Dorothy Parker-like teen protagonist who is stuck at the kid table at five important yet dysfunctional family events, to Claudia Gabel at Delacorte, in a very nice deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Douglas Stewart at Sterling Lord Literistic.

I’d be curious how she would get away with joining the army. Sounds really interesting.
A La Carte author Tanita Davis’s MARE’S WAR, the story of how a young, poor, African American girl in the 1940s manages to escape her terrible life on the farm, lies about her age, and enlists in the US Army during World War II and eventually gets shipped of to England and Paris, to Erin Clarke at Knopf Children’s, by Steven Chudney at The Chudney Agency.

I bet we see a lot of post-apoc/dystopian YA after the Hunger Games.
Calorie Man and Yellow Card Man author Paolo Bacigalupi’s SHIP BREAKER, in a post-oil, environmentally precarious world, a man survives as a salvager on the run from his murderous father, to Joe Monti at Little, Brown Children’s, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Martha Millard at Martha Millard Literary Agency (World English).

Nice twist on the werewolf-thing but this is the chick who said she didn’t like romances but loved Twilight because romances were formulaic so Shiver better blow my ass out of the water.
Maggie Stiefvater’s SHIVER, about the searing first love between a 16-year-old girl and a mysterious boy who spends his winters as a wolf, and who is fighting to stay human as the temperature drops, to Abby Ranger and David Levithan at Scholastic, in a significant deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in Fall 2009, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World).

Olympic swimmers are the new vampire.
Jessica Warman’s debut, BREATHLESS, in which an Olympic-bound swimmer navigates the moneyed, alcohol-infused world of boarding school, while trying to come to terms with the truth about her violent, schizophrenic brother, to Stacy Cantor at Walker, by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger (world).

More YA.
Christy Raedeke’s PROPHECY OF DAYS, pitched as a YA Da Vinci Code relating to the Mayan calendar which mysteriously ends in 2012, in which a teen, with the help of a gorgeous Scottish lad, must figure out her role in a cryptic prophecy while trying to outwit a secret society that will stop at nothing to control her, to Andrew Karre at Flux, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in Summer 2010, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (NA).

More post-apoc (sorta) YA.
Joelle Anthony’s RESTORING HARMONY, a debut novel about family, courage, and finding oneself set in an all-too-possible near-future of massive oil shortages and a return to a more agrarian way of life, to Stacey Barney at Putnam Children’s, by Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (World).

Dessen is a perennial favorite and one of the best YA authors writing.
Sarah Dessen’s ALONG FOR THE RIDE, about an 18-year-old Auden who girl spending the summer after her senior year with her father and stepmother when she meets a boy (and fellow insomniac) and they explore the nighttime world of the small town together, again to Regina Hayes at Viking Children’s, for publication in June 2009, by Leigh Feldman at Darhansoff, Verrill, Feldman.

This sounds like a real pick-me-up.
Michael Printz Honor winner Marilyn Nelson’s CONJOINED TWINS, the story of Millie/Christine McCoy, a 19th century African-American conjoined twin stolen at birth and sold into slavery to a showman, who became fluent in five languages and as an accomplished pianist became known as “The Two-Headed Nightingale,” performing with the Barnum circus, and a narrative about Seneca Village, a significant community of African American property owners in 19th century Manhattan, whose homes and identity were erased with the creation of Central Park, to Lauri Hornik at Dial, by Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary Agency.