Hello darlings!! Happy New Year!! How are you!?! I''m here and alive. Just rather...well, "busy" is probably a slightly pale word for this moment in time. LOL. But I'm having fun! Truly! It's sunny and clear and cold, though whatever's blowing through on these gusty winds is making me sneeze a LOT (I can't decide whether it's allergies or a cold), and I'm down in the deadline submarine, polishing up DOD (The Dangers of Desire), which I'm really having fun with, and doing other mysterious author-y things (signing contracts, mailing things, making MySpace graphics, running on my mini-trampoline. You know.) And I have to submerge again in a moment, but I surfaced for a bathrobe dance (OK: I was wearing jeans, but still—I was in my bathrobe in spirit) when I learned POP was an Romantic Times Top Pick!! And what a review!! Not only do they consider it HOT, but RT reviewer Kathe Robin said this, bless her heart:
"Long's star continues to rise with each new emotionally powerful, wonderfully rich novel. Incorporating the perfect depth of emotion into a romance rich in passion and character, she creates memorable love stories. Even a tried-and-true captive/captor plot feels new in her capable hands."
Hoo boy, eh?? That's exactly the sort of energy boost I need to push me over the deadline finish line. :) Also, Cherokee Sanders at Coffee Time Romance said it's a "fast moving story that just engulfs the reader with every page...Colin and Madeleine are a dynamite duo and their interactions are fantastic." And Marilyn Heyman at Romance Reviews Today called it "Well paced, romantic and suspenseful, with underlying sexual tension...THE PERILS OF PLEASURE should go on your must-buy list."
If you guys stumble across any other good early reviews, send 'em my way. :) Sometimes reviewers send them to me, and other times I sort of happen upon them later, but I'd love to link to them in my newsletter, etc. if you find any. And if you stumble across any "eh" reviews, please keep them a deep, dark secret. LOL.
A few other completely random things:
1) Are you guys aware of the Jane Fest happening on Masterpiece Theater on PBS?? OH. MY. is all I can say. I heartily approve of this entire gallery of heroes. Good calls casting-wise, all the way across the board. I think Captain Wentworth might be my favorite. Or George Knightly. Or... Boy, this is hard. Pick your favorite out and report back. LOL.
2) Circe Designs, a Northern California jewelry designer, designed a collection of handcrafted jewelry inspired by POP!! It's gorgeous. (That image up there is the bracelet). Circe tells me they'll send a free pair of sterling silver and Chalcedony earrings to anyone who makes a purchase of anything directly from their site using the coupon code "POP." I can vouch for the beauty and quality of it all. It makes me feel pretty, and Lord knows, by the time the end of a deadline rolls around, I need all the help with "pretty" I can get.
3) I just splurged on a new teapot, and the first time I boiled water in it, it scared the bejesus out of me. It's a Chantal whistling teapot—but the whistle is apparently a Hohner harmonica mouthpiece. I had no idea. When the water first boils, the steam forced out of the spout plays this loud, rich like -- C note!!! And then an actual chord!! At first it was the world's most unearthly sound, and I whirled around and was like, "WHAT the—?" The hair practically stood up on the back of my neck. My cat literally ran out of the room in terror. But then the chord played. Man, I tell you, it's all I can do to not boil water all the live long day just to hear it. LOL. I'm totally enchanted by it. You know...It's the little things. :) (And the cat is used to it now.)
OK, I have to go make tea, eat soup, and other author-y t hings. :) Tell me how you are when you get a chance!
It's POP day!! Pop the cork with me darlings!! Doubtless by now you've been inundated with bulletins from me -- LOL -- MySpace, my newsletter, etc. -- but thanks so much for all the enthusiasm, support, early feedback, help spreading the word, early sighting reports, and etc. Cross your fingers it does well, and buy lots of copies! LOL. So I just wanted to drop in and say -- Yay!!!!! -- hope you're doing great! And visit me today at Southern Sunshine. A signed book is up for grabs. We'll have a celebration of some sort after I turn DOD in!! 
