Fun contest giveaway!

My friend Erin is giving away three great books (including mine) on her blog today! Go check it out!

Testing out a really cool feature...

...to Microsoft Office 2007. I'm actually blogging from my Word program, which should publish straight into Blogger and also save a copy for me on my computer. Nifty if it works! Okay, I'm hitting "Publish" ....now!

[Added note: Fabulously cool! It really worked. Not sure if it will make me blog any more often, but still. ~ Shannon]

Anyone still here to hear my good news??!

Well, if you've come back here day after day after month...geez, it's been two months, folks! Don't you have a life? Anyway...if you've stuck with me this long, you get to hear the great news!

VENUS GUY TRAP, the sequel to VENUS ENVY will be published in early 2009! So for everyone who has been clamoring for the second book, we all finally have our wish. Thanks for sticking the wait out with me!

I'll try to post more often, I promise...however, I have a book to write! See you soon!

Shannon....and Venus!

What Would Venus Do?

Venus is visiting us today with a Q&A from our reader mail! When you're done taking Venus's most goddess-like advice, come visiting ME at ChickLitGurrl, where I've done an interview! Thanks to ChickLitGurrl for asking me to be part of your great site! - Shannon


Dear Venus,

I love shopping! But, my boyfriend says I spend more time shopping more than I do with him and it's either him...or Saks!! What would you do??
-- Have to make a choice in O.C.

Mmmm....shopping. We should get together and hit Rodeo Drive sometime!

The thing men don't get is that shopping is important. To our self esteem. To our social status. To the economy, for Zeus's sake! (Black Friday wouldn't exist without the shoppers who make it possible.)

Men need to look at shopping differently...as a skill that gets far too little credit. It takes as much stamina to make it through a Macy's Thanksgiving sale as it does to run for a 60-yard touchdown. (And we do it without the benefit of padding and safety helmets!) And any woman who's made a dive for the last pair of designer heels on the bargain table could teach baseball players a thing or two about sliding home. (It's all about how much you really want it.)

Before you forego Ferragamo, you could try convincing your man to take up shopping as a spectator sport. Remind him that it doubles as a workout if he carries your purchases. If that doesn't work, offer a little incentive. For every day of shopping you get, you'll buy a little something for him...and I don't mean a Dooney & Bourke handbag. Sexy lingerie is a gift you both can share.

Finally, ask yourself if he's right. As much as it pains me to say it, shopping really should be the second most important thing in your relationship. If you treat him like #1 most days, he won't be so jealous of your time with Barneys and Marc Jacobs.

Blog Tour - Sylvia Day

HEAT OF THE NIGHT

by Sylvia Day

ISBN: 978-0061231032

HarperCollins Avon

January 8, 2008

Bad boys are her weakness and no one is as wicked as Connor Bruce… He is the realization of every woman’s erotic fantasies. Existing in the Twilight between sleep and consciousness, Connor brings them decadent pleasures, fueled by their sexual energy. But violence and strife now tear apart both worlds, and Connor must embark on a perilous quest into the mortal realm … and into the arms of one intoxicating enchantress. Stacey Daniels has always been attracted to the wrong type of men – and the muscular, Viking-like champion on her front doorstep is no exception. She can hardly believe the wounded warrior is from another world, a world where erotic dreams are needed to survive, a world of terrible danger that has followed him to her home. Connor finds solace in her passion, but only time will tell if he can defeat the dark foe who hunts them … and if Stacey can surrender to the promise he offers with every electrifying touch.

Excerpt: http://www.guardiannovels.com/novels/heat

ABOUT SYLVIA DAY
SYLVIA DAY is the national bestselling, award-winning author of over a dozen novels. A wife and mother of two, she is a former Russian linguist for the U.S. Army Military Intelligence. Her books have been called “wonderful and passionate” by WNBC.com, “wickedly entertaining” by Booklist, and frequently garner Readers’ Choice and Reviewers’ Choice accolades. She’s been honored with both the EPPIE award and a finalist nod for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award of Excellence.

REVIEWS

“I highly recommend this book especially to readers who love fantasy romance.”– Paranormal Romance Writers

“Sylvia Day’s Guardians are deliciously spicy, especially the intensely sexual Connor. Love the paranormal world! Love the characters! Love the sizzling romance! Love Heat of the Night! Love Sylvia Day!”– Annmarie, Joyfully Reviewed

“Heat Of The Night is not only a love story, it’s also an extremely adventurous tale of good versus evil. I couldn’t stop reading, waiting to see what would happen. In this story, there were characters from the first book as well as new characters, both evil and good. The adventure and love story combine, woven together by a wonderful plot. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in Ms. Day’s marvelous series.”– Marcy Arbitman, The Romance Studio

“Day’s second installment in her Dream Guardian series starts off with a bang! Her hot and steamy sex scenes will leave readers breathless and aching for more. The hero and heroine are believable and well written, and the hero is rugged and definitely dreamy. With characters from the first book added in, as well as a mixture of new faces, plus dashes of paranormal elements, Day has a winning recipe.”– Janean Sparks, RT BOOKreviews

Website: http://www.dreamguardians.com/ http://www.sylviaday.com/

It's DeLovely....It's Delicious....It's Delightful!!

Not only is the new mass market version of VENUS ENVY on sale now, but I got a huge box of author copies today! It's glossy and colorful and that picture to to left doesn't do it justice at all.

So, I'm feeling generous. I'm giving a way 2 copies of VENUS ENVY, and as a bonus, I'm going to throw in 5 more books from various authors I know and love, just because I can!

There will be two prize packages:

Fabulous Prize Package #1:

1) Venus Envy, by Moi

2) Unbecoming Behavior, by Stephanie Rowe

3) Beyond the Edge, by Susan Kearney

4) Jane Millionaire, by Janice Lynn

5) Lip Lock, by Susanna Carr

6) Don't Look Down (hardback!), by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Fabulous Prize Package #2:

1) Venus Envy, by Moi

2) Unforgiven, by Lindsay McKenna

3) Silent Memories (signed copy!) by Pat White

4) Charmed & Dangerous, by Candace Havens

5) DirtyLittle Secrets, by Julie Leto

6) Passion, Betrayal, and Killer Highlights, by Kyra Davis

All of the above books are by authors I've read and loved.

So, how can I make this a little bit difficult? How about this: The first two people to find the mass market copy of VENUS ENVY (with the cover as above) in a bookstore and who send me pictures of themselves holding the book, win one of the two lovely packages above. Send the picture and the name of the bookstore where you found it, along with your name to:

shannon(AT)shannonmckelden.com

Now hit those bookstores find me some Venus!!

~ Shannon

My Love/Hate Relationship With Christmas

A few days ago (okay, maybe a WEEK ago), Christina tagged me for a Christmas MeMe of my favorite things about Christmas. I was gonna do it. I swear. Except the more I thought about it, the more I felt like a big fat liar. And since I'm trying to slide under Santa's Radar of naughtiness, I figured I couldn't complete the meme without getting put down on the naughty list for lying.

So, giving it some thought, I realized that what I have is a love/hate relationship with the holidays. I WANT to love the holidays, but there's just something (about everything) that stops me.

So, with no further ado, my own Christmas MeMe of Honesty:

1) I love....the beauty of Christmas. The decorations and twinkly lights, the smell of fresh-cut fir trees, the colorful ornaments and packages.

I hate....the beauty of Christmas. Do you know how freaking long it takes drag the boxes of all that crap out of storage?? I hate the time it takes to decorate and second-guessing myself on what looks goods. I hate the fact that those lovely-smelling fir trees are like blow torches waiting to happen...I simply don't get a single good night's sleep as long as that thing is in my living room. I hate turning the lights on them, sure we're going to get a short and burn the place down. (Solved this last year with the necessity to get a fake tree, but the feeling still lingers.)

Even worse, I hate taking all that pretty crap down. Do you know how freaking long it takes to stuff all that stuff back into the boxes and drag them all back out to storage??? ONLY to discover a day later that you forgot something??? Last year we forgot a 1-1/2-feet-tall ceramic Christmas tree that lights up. We left it on top of the desk in the living room until we drug out the decorations again this year. And, no. I'm not kidding.

2) I love....the food. The frosted cookies, the home-backed goodies, the egg nog, the pies.

I hate...the food. How many pounds do I have to pack on every year during the holidays before I learn my lesson? Apparently at least another ten. At our family gathering a few weeks ago, I ate all this stuff I don't normally get to eat until I was nearly comatose. Then, my cousins brought their traditional homemade English toffee, all sugary and chocolatey and topped with crunchy slivers of almonds--one of my all-time, once-a-year favorites. It was as delish as I remembered! Then, somehow I ended up leaving the party with an entire bucket of the leftover English toffee. Did I mention that no one in my house eats it but me? And did I mention that I ate almost nothing else BUT the English toffee for the next four days until it was finally gone?? Give me one good reason this is a GOOD thing.

3) I love...Christmas carols. They are so sweet and sentimental, remind me of childhood and goodwill and the real reason for Christmas.

I hate...Christmas carols. Because, you see, I have this sickening sentimental/emotional side, and when I hear said lovely carols that remind me of my childhood and goodwill and the real reason for Christmas...I cry. And, do I want to cry for the entire month of December? Not really. Ditto Christmas movies. The deepest Christmas movie I've watched over the last few years is The Santa Clause, and even that was pushing it. So, I've listened to exactly 1 Christmas CD this year, avoid it on the radio like the plague, and have managed to avoid ANY Christmas movies this year, even though Darling Daughter taped the entire 25 Days of Christmas Movies on Lifetime Channel and they are sitting on the TiVo just waiting to be watched. Not.

4) I love...gift giving. Ah. Finding the perfect gift for your loved one. Isn't that the best feeling ever?! I know they are going to adore it, it's what they've always wanted, or something they mentioned that I actually remembered they mentioned. I can't wait to see their face when they open it and light up at the sheer joy of receiving this gift!

I hate...gift giving. Ennnhhh. The above never happens. I NEVER remember what people want for Christmas, except when it's NOT Christmas, and by the time it IS Christmas, they've already got what they wanted, so I'm back to square one. What the heck is the JOY of calling up your family members and begging them to give you a list of what they want, while they beg you back for a list of what YOU want. Then, you go on your respective searches to fulfill each other's wish lists, often unable to find what they want (because you really aren't sure what the heck a "mandoline" is, for instance). You search high and low, check and recheck the lists, your budget, the UPS tracking system (to see if you are actually going to GET the gift you spent days tracking down before the holiday and could only find at some obscure dotcom which is probably just stealing your credit card number and not planning on sending you anything in return), and then wrap the suckers you aren't even sure they are going to like.

Um, wouldn't be easier and a lot more joyful, if everyone just bought their own gift, wrapped it up, and opened it on Christmas?? It would save EVERYONE a boatload of hassle. (This is a reciprocal hatred, I'm sure. I have no doubt people hate buying for me as much as I hate buying for them.)

5) I love...spending time with my family. We have a blast together, enjoy each other's company, and all get along.

I hate...spending time with my family. At the holidays anyway. See above, #4. It's all about the damn gifts. I think I got my brother a great gift this year (not something from a list for once), but the PRESSURE of wondering if he's going to think it's as wonderful as I think it is, or if it's not quite right, or not the right color, or is missing feature he really would want in this item...the pressure is killing me. Why do we put ourselves through this??? I have much more fun with my family when we're just hanging out and under no obligation to buy each other anything. My gift to them is my presence. (I can hear the snorting now!)

So, call me Grinch if you like, but that's the Truth about Christmas for me. And for all you who wax poetic about the joy of the Season...more power to you.

~Shannnon

Blog Tour

[I knew this would happen, though not so quickly...having my "to read" book list messed up. I think I need to go through my Amazon Wish List, where I keep track of the books coming out that I want to read, and add those books to my list. I will NOT miss this book. Gena's Alien Huntress books are awesome! Check out the first two books in the series, Awaken Me Darkly and Enslave Me Sweetly, if you haven't read them! ~ Shannon]


SAVOR ME SLOWLY
by Gena Showalter
(Pocket) December 26, 2007

Mishka Le’Ace was created to be an undercover operative . . . literally. Her beautiful body has been mechanically augmented to give her superhuman strength -- strength she’s going to need. Her latest mission sends her to rescue Alien Investigation and Removal agent Jaxon Tremain from torture and death. With him, she discovers a passion unlike any other. A passion she was forbidden to know. . .

From the moment they meet in a darkened cell, Jaxon craves her touch. But the machine half of Le’Ace forces her to do things she doesn’t always want to do. Even betray him . . . and ultimately destroy him. Now Jaxon must battle the man controlling Le’Ace and even Le’Ace herself to at last claim the woman he’s come to love.

ABOUT GENA SHOWALTER:
Gena Showalter sold her first book at the age of 27. Three years later, at the ripe old age of 30, she had sold an amazing total of 15 books in a multitude of genres: paranormal romance, contemporary chick lit/romance hybrid, young adult and urban fantasy. Her books provide something for every fan of fiction. For more information about Gena and her novels, you can visit her website at http://www.genashowalter.com/ and her blog at http://www.genashowalter.blogspot.com/

REVIEWS:
In versatile Showalter’s new futuristic novel, the world teeters on the edge of disaster unless a tough band of human and alien allies can stop it. Danger spiced with sizzling sensuality are definitely hallmarks of Showalter’s style. Kicking butt and taking names is what these protagonists do best which cranks up the action quotient for this intense new book! – Romantic Times

One of the premiere authors of paranormal romance.” New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole

SAVOR ME SLOWLY is the third and strongest installment in Gena Showalter’s Alien Huntress series. As riveting as the previous two books were this one is better. Fresh Fiction

The characters in this book are flawlessly drawn. . . Science fiction at its best! So if you’ve never picked up a story by this talented author, now is the time to start. Two Lips Reviews -- 5 lips, their highest rating!

Gena's Website