My to-be-read pile of books, which runs in the dozens and is always teetering dangerously out of control, is about to grow some more. Several books I’ve been waiting a long time to read are coming out in November, and I can’t wait. My great friend and co-workshop presenter, Eve Silver, who writes dark historical gothics for Kensington?s Zebra imprint, has a new book this month. HIS DARK KISS tells the story of governess Emma Parrish, who heads to creepy Manorbrier castle with its forbidden Round Tower to care for Lord Anthony Craven’s young son. Of course weird things happen in the castle even as she falls under Craven’s spell? I just love this Jane Eyre scenario, and can’t wait to see what Eve does with it. The book is sure to be as atmospheric, dark, and sensual her first novel, DARK DESIRES.

Another great new friend of mine, Patricia Sargeant, debuts with her first book for Kensington/Dafina this month: YOU BELONG TO ME. Patricia writes sensual romantic suspense, and YOU BELONG TO ME reunites science fiction writer Nicole Collins and her former husband, Malcolm Bryant, who?s adapting her first book into a movie. But when a deranged fan endangers Nicole’s life, everyone’s plans change and old passions rise to the surface?

Finally, one of my new favorite authors, perennial bestseller Anne Stuart, also has a book out in November: COLD AS ICE. Speaking of gothics, Stuart writes what I call contemporary romantic suspense gothics, where the hero is REALLY dark and may or may not also be the bad guy. This time out, Stuart tells the story of attorney Genevieve Spencer, who thought she was simply delivering documents to billionaire Harry Van Dorn’s yacht for signature. Little does she know Van Dorn is a sicko who has other plans for her. Riding to the rescue is personal assistant Peter Jensen, who apparently - according to Publishers Weekly - uses his sexuality to control both men and women. Hmmm? Gotta go. I’ve got lots of reading to do.

Bear with me while we have a teensy digression from the world of books and romance writing. Have you been watching NBC’s new show, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (FNL)? Why on earth not? This is one of the best TV shows I’ve seen in a really long time, not that I watch a lot of TV. USA TODAY reported that the show’s ratings haven?t been great, something I find unbelievable. If anything, FNL’s 8:00 slot may be a problem - this is definitely a grown-up show. FNL deals with Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler doing a wonderful job), rookie head coach of the Dillon, Texas high school team, the Panthers. I’m not from TX, but I understand that high school football is like a religion down there, and I feel like I know these people. Maybe it’s because my mother’s family is from a small town in Indiana, and high school sports are DEFINITELY a religion in that neck of the woods. Poor Coach Taylor is surrounded by fierce fans who all expect the Panthers to have a state championship season, and all feel free to tell him - loudly and repeatedly - how to coach the team. His wife, Tami, gave an impromptu barbeque party for all the townsfolk in last night’s episode, and she really ought to be nominated for sainthood. But I want to talk about the romances on the show. The Panthers’s first-string quarterback (or QB1 as we like to call them), senior Jason Street, broke his neck in the first game of the season and is now in a wheelchair in rehab with dim prospects of ever walking again. Jason’s a great guy - Boy Scout type from a nice family - and has a lovely, devoted girlfriend, cheerleader Lyla. Lyla has stood by his side and stubbornly insists that they’ll still get married, as planned. No problems, right? Enter Jason’s best friend and teammate, bad-boy Tim Riggins. Tim appears to be from the wrong side of the tracks, has got a sketchy home life, and is sullen and moody. One of his favorite pastimes is driving golf balls of some nearby cliff. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard Tim string more than five words together at a time, so he’s definitely the really strong, REALLY silent type. Tim hasn’t gone to see Jason since the terrible accident because Tim feels guilty that he didn?t protect Jason better on the field. Naturally, Lyla marches off to let Tim have it for neglecting Jason in his hour of need. Can anyone see where this is going? Last week, Lyla, the devoted girlfriend, and Tim, the bad-boy best friend, shared an explosive kiss in the pouring rain. Last night, Tim showed up in Lyla’s bedroom to explain that he could no longer stay away from her, only in Tim’s succinct style, it came out as, “Lyla? I can’t ?” Next thing you know, Tim and Lyla are tumbling onto Lyla’s bed… I’m going to put aside my obvious concerns about teenagers having sex, and just go ahead and state the following: I LOVE this triangle. Clearly, Tim is deeply troubled and probably needs years of therapy. Jason loves Lyla, is a nice boy, and is the safer long-term choice. And anyway, these are TEENAGERS, and long-term to them is probably the length of, well, a football season. But, still - I kinda like bad-boy Tim. What’ll happen next? Will Lyla be able to live with the guilt? Will Jason find out? And what?ll happen with Jason and Tim’s embittered ex-girlfriend, Tyra? Is something brewing there? And what about the potential romance between sophomore QB2 turned QB1, sensitive Matt Saracen, and Coach Taylor’s daughter, Julie? God, I can’t wait to find out. Here’s my prediction: Jason’s rehabilitation will go much better than anyone suspects. He’ll be outta that chair in no time. Seriously. Check out FNL. Great show. Anyone else out there watch it?
http://www.nbc.com/Friday_Night_Lights/index.shtml

I’ve got a couple of cool things to report. First, the Bengals won this afternoon against the Carolina Panthers, 17-14. True, I didn’t watch the game and, yes, true, I didn’t know until ten seconds ago who the Bengals played. But does any of that matter? As I believe I’ve mentioned, Cincinnati is all about football right now, and I don’t want to be left out–that would be really uncool. So I just want to go on record right now and say the following: Who Dey? Second, Kayla Perrin has taken time out of her busy schedule to read an ARC of my February novel, RISK, and give me a cover quote. Here it is: “RISK packs an emotional punch!” So that’s about it from here. Bengals, cover quote, oh, and I’ve got delicious, fudgy iced brownies for dessert tonight. What more could a girl ask for?

I posted another RISK excerpt, this time in my blog - or is it plog? - over at Amazon. Check it out if you have time.
Here’s a link: http://www.amazon.com/Risk-Ann-Christopher/dp/0758214340/sr=8-1/qid=1161218612/ref=sr_1_1/103-1936886-2307848?ie=UTF8&s=books

This week I had the thrill of seeing one of my favorite new authors, J.R. Ward, speak and sign books at Borders. You’ve heard me mention Ward before. She’s the former corporate attorney-turned New York Times bestselling author of a series of books called The Black Dagger Brotherhood, the latest of which is LOVER AWAKENED. Ward turned up in high heels and a black pantsuit with a long jacket that wasn’t quite a duster but was still way cool. The black was the perfect touch; I’d ‘ve been unspeakably disappointed if the creator of all those attitudinally-challenged, super-sexy bad boy vampires had turned up in a flowered dress and Crocs. Anyway, Ward is as hip, edgy, and energetic as her books. She talks enthusiastically and lovingly about ‘the Brothers’, who, she says, just turned up one day in her head, and says she sees the books as vividly as she’d watch a movie. She also stresses how hard the novels are to write, how complex the plotting, and how long the hours, which was a tremendous relief to me and, I’m sure, writers everywhere. I can, and do, work really hard, just like she does. Now if only I could think up a brilliant idea like the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Best of all, she promises big surprises and satisfying stories in the books to come - sorry, she wouldn’t get into specifics and, BELIEVE ME, I asked her - and says she wants to write these books for the next thirty years. That’s great news for me, because I’ll certainly be reading about the brothers for as long as she’s writing them.

Guess what I did today? Placed an order for an ad for my February book, RISK, in Romantic Times BOOKReviews magazine. Guess what else? It weren’t cheap. In point of fact, it was pretty expensive. If you’ve read my blog with any regularity, you probably know that I don’t really like spending my advance money. Actually, it’s worse than that. I get testy when I spend advance money, especially large chunks of it. Next week, I’ll be sending Romance Sells, the catalogue of upcoming books for bookstores and librarians, their portion of my advance money for another ad for RISK. No doubt I’ll be testy about that, too. After that, I’ll be ordering bookmarks for RISK, so I can mail them out to bookstores and reading groups so they’ll know RISK exists. Once they know the book exists, I’m hoping they’ll decide they can’t live another day without ordering hundreds of copies for their respective readers. Bookmarks, in case you didn’t know, and postage for mailing bookmarks, are also very expensive. Are you noticing any patterns here? Why am I spending all this money on stuff for RISK? Good question. It’s because I need to market the book if I want readers to know about and buy it. Sounds like a logical plan, right? Here’s the rub: I’ve got no idea which, if any, of these marketing strategies work. None whatsoever. None of us authors do. It’s true. We all huddle together in worried little groups when we get together and pick each other’s brains, desperate for that magic pill. But the tragic thing is there is no magic pill. I’ve got a friend who, after years of trying it all, has sworn off marketing and decided only to do a newsletter to targeted bookstores. I’ve got a friend who buys HUGE ads and swears they bring her HUGE sales. I’ve got a friend who sends out dozens of advance reading copies. I’ve got a friend who orders coffee mugs with the book’s logo and gives them to booksellers. I’ve got friends who consider blogging a marketing tool, and friends who refuse to blog. Friends who - well, you get the idea. Does any of this work? Who the hell knows? Have any of you authors out there discovered anything that works? What about you, readers? Which marketing tricks grab your attention and send you right to the bookstore to buy the book? Someone please tell me SOMETHING. I’d really like to know.

I’ve posted an excerpt from my February Kensington/Dafina book, RISK, on my site. Check it out if you have time. The hero is Justus Robinson. What can I say about Justus? Well, I love him, of course. He?s tall, dark and handsome, sort of a combination Henry Simmons and Michael Jordan. Wickedly funny and a little wicked. He doesn’t put up with a lot of nonsense. Oh, and he’s not afraid to go after what he wants, and if a little manipulation is involved, then so be it. Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Justus wants Angela, and if you’d like to read about her reaction to his declaration of intent, here’s a link:
http://www.annchristopher.com/books/risk.htm

Can’t talk long - The Cincinnati Bengals, who are currently 3-0, will try to make it 4-0 in a little while, and I need to watch the game. Just as soon as I learn who the Bengals are playing this week. True, I know next to nothing about football, but Cincinnati is a rabid football town right now and it’s no longer safe to admit my ignorance. Anyway, as you may have noticed, I like to tinker with my web site every now and then. Snip a little something here, add a little something there, and the result was a hopelessly cluttered and overloaded home page. So I’ve had a little work done, and I have to say I think the site looks thirty pounds lighter, and also feels younger and fresher. Sort of like it’s had Botox and liposuction. If you have time, stop by and see what you think.
Here’s a link: http://www.annchristopher.com
In the meantime, GO BENGALS!