The emerging New Adult market

There's a great article by my favourite author Barbara O'Neal over at WRITER UNBOXED today, on the emerging new adult market.

I'm so excited that Barbara is writing NA (she's the only author I pre-order books for 6 months in advance!) and I have her NA, RANDOM, lined up to read next on my kindle. (She's writing NA under a pen name, Lark O'Neal.)

Go check out the article here 

WEEKEND BOOK CLUB: Anticipated reads for 2012

Every year books are released that I can't wait to get my hands on.

Here are 2 I'm dying to read!

I read Clockwork Angel this time last year and loved it! Next time I'm at the shops, I'm grabbing Clockwork Prince off the shelves.

I have Barbara O'Neal's books firmly on my keeper shelf so am eagerly anticipating the arrival of April when The Garden of Happy Endings is released.

She's an author I automatically pre-order, her books are THAT good!

Which books are you looking forward to reading in 2012?

My Top 5 favourite reads 2011

When USA TODAY asked me to list my top 5 favourite reads of 2011, I had a momentary panic.

I read so many great books this year, how to choose only 5?

After much teeth-gnashing, I did it.  Then again, these books were stand-outs for me so when I really put my thinking cap on, it wasn't so difficult to choose after all.

So here are my top 5:

1. How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal
(lush, evocative, made me cry & I rarely cry with books!).

2. Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (never want to put the book down, love the characters, the humor, the warmth).

3. The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs (realistic, character-driven, tugged on my heartstrings. And made me bawl.).

4. Dancing Backwards in High Heels by Christine Darcas (fascinating real-life dilemma any woman could identify with, thoroughly enjoyed it).

5. Red-Hot Renegade by Kelly Hunter (exotic locale, well-developed characters, sizzling tension).

You can see other author recommendations on the USA TODAY Happily Ever After blog.

Weekend Book Club: How to Bake a Perfect Life

I'm preloading this as I rush out the door for a weekend at the beach so am going to keep it brief.

Barbara O'Neal is my favourite women's fiction author.

Her books are lush, evocative and so beautifully written the pages turn themselves.
She has an incredible gift for tapping into human emotion, then bringing that alive between the pages of her books.

Her latest, HOW TO BAKE A PERFECT LIFE, is no exception.

Filled with food and recipes and real characters and romance, you absolutely must read it.

She's the only author who is guaranteed to make me cry and I never, ever cry when I read.

Do yourself a favour and read this book.
Then glom her backlist.

You'll thank me.

What are you reading this week?

Weekend Book Club: Waiting for the postman

If there was one book you'd stand by the postbox for in the lead up to Christmas, which would it be?

For me, it's this one.

Being released on Dec 21st, I've placed my order with the Book Depository and will be eagerly scanning my mail box daily for its arrival.

If you haven't read Barbara O'Neal (Samuel) do yourself a favour.
After glomming her last year, she's my favourite author. Her prose is rich, lush and thoroughly gorgeous.

Here's the blurb for her latest:

An unforgettable novel that celebrates food, family, and the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters.
In a story as warm and embracing as a family kitchen, Barbara O’Neal explores the poignant, sometimes complex relationship between mothers and daughters—and the healing magic of homemade bread.

Professional baker Ramona Gallagher is a master of an art that has sustained her through the most turbulent times, including a baby at fifteen and an endless family feud. But now Ramona’s bakery threatens to crumble around her. Literally. She’s one water-heater disaster away from losing her grandmother’s rambling Victorian and everything she’s worked so hard to build.
When Ramona’s soldier son-in-law is wounded in Afghanistan, her daughter, Sophia, races overseas to be at his side, leaving Ramona as the only suitable guardian for Sophia’s thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, Katie. Heartbroken, Katie feels that she’s being dumped again—this time on the doorstep of a woman out of practice with mothering.
Ramona relies upon a special set of tools—patience, persistence, and the reliability of a good recipe—when rebellious Katie arrives. And as she relives her own history of difficult choices, Ramona shares her love of baking with the troubled girl. Slowly, Katie begins to find self-acceptance and a place to call home. And when a man from her past returns to offer a second chance at love, Ramona discovers that even the best recipe tastes better when you add time, care, and a few secret ingredients of your own.

So 'fess up.
Which book will you stand by the mail box for this Christmas?

Weekend Book Club: The Secret of Everything

If there is one book you read this year, Barbara O'Neal's THE SECRET OF EVERYTHING is it.

Devoured in a day and a half (no mean feat for a busy mum and writer!) I fell into the richness of the story-the food, the scenery, Barbara's evocative way with words and the lush characters.

And they are lush. Lush with reality and life experience and heart-ache, so poignant in parts I cried (and I rarely cry when reading.)

While Tessa is troubled, I wanted to be her, for the simple fact she got to be with Vince.
As a hero, he is magnificent.
Single dad of 3 girls, he is beyond sexy. Thanks to Barbara's amazing way with words.

Read this book.
You'll thank me.

What are you reading this week?

Lovely postman

I love it when the postman delivers fun stuff like books (the bills I could do without!)

So imagine my delight when the other day, author copies of both these books arrive at the same time!

My action-packed story TAG TEAM is in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF SPECIAL OPS ROMANCE, something I'm really looking forward to reading considering the other authors in the book.

And the same applies to DESTINATION: SUMMER WEDDINGS. I'm itching to read Lucy Gordon's and Jessica Hart's fab stories.

But first, I'm wallowing in the luxury of Barbara O'Neal's THE SECRET OF EVERYTHING. So hard when you're loving a book so much you don't want it to end, yet you have fab stuff waiting on your TBR pile!

Rich writing

I've been so caught up with life and writing and business stuff, all while trying to get over throat infection, that last week passed in a bit of a blur.

So I know some Aussie mates finalled in the RITAs but I hadn't seen the whole list. Yesterday I took a squiz and was absolutely delighted to see one of my all time favourite authors there, Barbara O'Neal, with this book.If you haven't read any of Barbara's books, do yourself a favour (her original women's fiction novels are written under Barbara Samuel.)

Her favourite of mine is No Place Like Home but this book would be a close second. Read it. Indulge. Wallow in the richness of her characters, which are truly awe-inspiring for another writer.

I was lucky enough to meet Barbara when she come to Melbourne several years ago and she's a gorgeous lady too. Told me to take time out to care for the 'girls in the basement' (my muse) and what she said and the way she said it really resonated.

As for her current release, The Secret of Everything? Ordered a few weeks back, waiting anxiously for it to arrive. That one will definitely feature in my Weekend Book Club!