Okay, see … here’s what happened.

The other week I put myself on sabbatical and promised I’d come back refreshed, revitalized, and ready to blog. And that’s what I’d planned to do. I was going to be entertaining, funny, and interesting, and my re-energized blog was going to blow your socks off in a big way. I was all set. But then something BIG happened.

Sandra Brown’s latest book, RICOCHET, came out.

You know what that means, right? Rule number 9 from my RULES OF THE ROAD entry, wherein I outline the terms and conditions under which I can be expected to post an entertaining blog, clearly states:

I cannot be expected to blog when a new Sandra Brown or Karen Robards book hits the stands.

So there it is. Sorry.

Can you blame me for taking time off from blogging to read one of Brown’s romantic suspense novels? Have YOU read one? You should. Look at the intriguing premise for RICOCHET. Strait-laced detective Duncan Hatcher falls hard for the judge’s wife, whose self defense excuse for shooting an intruder has more holes in it than thirty pounds of Swiss cheese. Is beautiful Elise good or bad? Duncan spends most of the book struggling with this question, his conscience, and his lust. Will lust win? Gotta pick up the book to find out. As usual, Brown does a fantastic job with her alpha-male hero, and the crackling chemistry between him and the object of his desire.

So, really, I HAD to take time off to read the book. REALLY. HAD to.

Anyway, I’ve read RICOCHET, and now it’s back to business for me. Next time, I’ll be blogging about the fascinating and shattering concept of…

Wha–?

What’s that you say?

J.R. Ward’s next BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD book, LOVER AWAKENED, is coming out on September 5? But I haven’t read LOVER ETERNAL yet!!!

Wow. Well, okay. No problem. I can read LOVER ETERNAL and, uh, you know … blog too. No sweat. I can just, uh, juggle a couple of responsibilities and, uh…

Gotta go!

I am taking a sabbatical from writing my blog.

At first I’d planned to put myself on strike from writing my blog, but then it dawned on me that:

1. I don’t belong to a blogger’s union;
2. I don’t get paid to blog; and
3. I can’t think of any horrible blogger working conditions that need to be improved.

So now I’ve put myself on sabbatical instead.

Why? Because (cue the violins) I’m really, really tired.

I’ve been working like a dog all summer, marketing TROUBLE (have you bought 6 or 8 copies yet? No? Why not??), going to the RWA conference in Atlanta (which was really fun and really exhausting), and finishing the manuscript for my Harlequin/Kimani novel, SWEETER THAN REVENGE, which is due August 31.

And the work isn’t finished, my friends. Next week I’ll be teaching the online class, SCENTS & SENSIBILITY (signed up yet? No? Why not??), for which I still need to write the lectures, and my agent is cracking the whip about me writing and turning in a proposal very soon. Little does she know I don’t have the first idea about a plot for a new book. Don’t tell her, okay?

So the point—and I do have one—is that this week I’m giving my brain a little break because it’s hard to think of funny and clever things to write all the time. The plan, and maybe this is foolish thinking on my part, is that with a little rest, the old brain will voluntarily return to duty sometime next week. I’m hoping it’ll be encouraged to get back into the groove of things by the fact that the kids are going back to school—where they belong!—next week, so it should be safe.

Wish me luck, okay?

Anyone else’s brain AWOL these days?

Well, I’m back from the national romance writer’s conference in Atlanta. I feel exhausted, but also refreshed and revitalized. I caught up with old friends, met new ones, snagged lots of books, co-taught a workshop, and signed a few books. I’d planned to blog a lot more about the conference, but something MUCH more exciting has happened, and I had to share:

I got the cover for my February, 2007 Dafina release, RISK.

And, get this … it’s really, really, pretty.

If you’ve read this blog at all, you know I have a thing for pretty book covers. Love ‘em. Buy previously unknown books because of them. Wax rhapsodic over them.

The Kensington art department really outdid themselves this time, in my humble opinion. It’s pretty, yeah, but also sexy and passionate.

And I absolutely LOVE it.

Here’s a link:

http://www.annchristopher.com