Welcome our guest blogger, Candace Haven.

Thank you for having me, and doing this for me on my release date of The Demon King and I.

I’m going to confess something to you guys that I haven’t told anyone else. (At least I don’t think I have, I’m very forgetful. Smile). The idea for the hero in “The Demon King and I” came from my editor at Berkley.

I was talking to her on the phone one day about different ideas I had for books. I told her about this demon slayer, Gillian, who was a Guardian Key and protected our world from other worlds. By day she is a high-powered, business-woman, and by night she kicks demon butt.

My editor said I should make her love interest a demon, as that would mean instant tension. She was right, and Arath The Demon King was born. In my head he’s a mixture of Clive Owen in “Sin City” and Gerard Butler in “300.” He’s the first demon king to actually have a conscience, and he’s a good ruler. He quickly becomes a favorite among his people. But he’s still a demon and can get “red and flamey” without much provocation.

Gillian’s never seen a being quite like him, and when she finds herself attracted, she’s appalled. What I love about Arath is that as the book goes on you learn more about him and you discover that there is so much more than Gillian could have imagined. He’s powerful, strong and hard-headed. But he’s also loyal and sometimes funny.

I have to tell you that by the end of the book, I fell for him too. So who could blame poor Gillian. I like my guys a little rough around the edges and Arath most definitely fits that bill.

Question of the Day:  So how do you like your heroes, rough around the edges with the possiblity of getting all flamey? Or more refined?

From the commnets a name will be drawn for a autographed copy of The Demon King and I. Also over at www.candacehaven.com, you’ll find she is giving away more then $500.00 in prizes…Go take a look…

Okay, so I’m trying really hard not to pick apart a recent review of Living the Vida Lola [after all, it’s a review, right?  And not a bad one at that.] while simultaneously picking it apart.  [See review below]  

Here are the top ten things this review boils down to:

10.  “Hormonally supercharged” is a good thing in a romance. 

 9.  The plot is original, even if there’s “too little mystery”.  Come on, death by tattoo?

 8.  It’s a mystery / romance, so “too little mystery” is okay! 

 7.  Life in a romance doesn’t stop just because a crime’s being solved.  Of course Lola’s fantasies about Jack persist!  

 6.  “Lola’s car is bashed.  She’s locked in a florist’s refrigerator.  Her brother, mistaken for her, winds up in the hospital.”  Sounds action-packed to me.  

 5.  Reviewers don’t give spoiler warnings.  Oh well, still wanna        find out how the car’s bashed, why she’s locked in a flower fridge, and how anyone can mistake a hot Latino hunk for a smart, sassy Latina PI.  

 4.  Lola’s a black belt in kung fu.  How can that not be mentioned?!

 3.  She sticks by her family through everything.  That’s admirable, baby!

 2.  Lola “attacks a killer with a borrowed baseball bat “.  Can you say resourceful?

And the number one thing this review boils down to…

 1.  Romance Readers, bless ‘em, LOVE that “icky love stuff” and Living the Vida Lola is HALF romance!!!!  […and it’s just “love stuff” really, no ick involved]

So, while I would have preferred a slightly better review, I’m happy with this one because, while the reviewer seemed to miss the point that it is half mystery / half romance, he or she took the time to read it, review it, and praised the “speed dating pace and lots of nice underwear”.  Nothing to complain about there!

Kirkus Reviews“A hormonally supercharged private eye seeks a lost mom while lusting after the man of her dreams. Lola Cruz is thrilled. Her boss Manny, owner of Camacho and Associates, is finally letting her solve a case. Emily Diggs’s brother wants to know where she is and why she’s disappeared, abandoning her six-year-old. Tucked into the missing woman’s journal is a business card from Jack Callaghan, whom Lola’s panted over for years. In between entertaining overheated fantasies of Jack, Lola learns that Emily thought her older son Garrett died from tainted tattooing, that her daughter Allison worked at the tattoo parlor he frequented and that little Sean was the result of a failed interracial romance. Lola’s car is bashed. She’s locked in a florist’s refrigerator. Her brother, mistaken for her, winds up in the hospital. But still those fantasies about Jack persist, although fulfillment has to be deferred while Lola sidesteps a sarcastic co-worker, plans a birthday celebration for her niece, learns that two more victims have died and attacks a killer with a borrowed baseball bat while Jack is getting shot up. A series debut with too much icky love stuff and too little mystery. In Lola’s favor, however, is a speed-dating pace and lots of nice underwear.”

Question of the Day:

As a reader, how much weight do you give to reviews?

Woo Hoo, I get to blog on Halloween, my very favorite day.

Why?

Because it’s the one day of the year, one can be exactly what their not in real life. I always loved watching my children try on costumes I made for them. Their imaginations went wild as they evolved into what they dreamed of being, or even feared.

This year my youngest grandson Jaren, is Spiderman. Since he started walking and talking, he’s been drawn to the superhero. This year he is really Spiderman. He tired on his costume, and went into Spiderman mod. He was pretending to climb walls, spray webs, and save his sister, who really didn’t want any saving. I watched his dark eyes widen at the sight of two year old form in the familiar blue and red suit. In his imagination, he muscled up, could climb walls, and save a very uncooperative damsel in distress. It mattered little, he was really Spiderman!

I love this concept of letting children’s minds run wild with everything they aren’t. Little girls become princesses, fairies, and dancers. Little boys are superheroes, and Darth Vader, who eats half his candy before the night is over.

I still dress up to answer the door. I’m always a witch. I have a colorful collection of hats, I’ve bought cheap at the end of the season, usually the day after, and decorate elaborately when the day arrives. For me, this is better than Christmas…

I answer the door, adorned in my hat and witches outfit, smiling, because I’m a good witch, even though I wear black. Sometimes weather permitting, I sit on my decorated front porch with my spinning wheel and spin. Because of Sleeping Beauty, the spinning wheel has gotten a bad rap. My little cauldron is smoking, and I’ll hand out handfuls of candy. By the time the kids leave me, they know the spinning wheel is harmless, and witches in black can be as good as the sparkling pink ones who get all the good press. I’m the queen of PR for the witch who prefers the more classic black, after all it is slimming. All the pink fluff, puts pounds on the hips.

I’m a wife, mother, and grandmother, but on Halloween, I’m a kid once more. Nothing is better then that, and your never to old to play pretend.

Question of the Day:  What is your favorite thing about Halloween?

Jill James is our lucky winner for a Hex Appeal book from Linda Wisdom…Congratulations Jill…And Enjoy.