Exciting Week for the TBR Pile

One of the things about authors is that they write books. And when you actually know the authors it means you want to buy the books even more than you might otherwise (that is if you start out a raving bookaholic which I, admittedly, am). And sometimes it turns out that these books come out at just about the same time. In the last ten days my TBR pile has grown. It is once again teetering.

Added are . . .

Kiss of Fire, a paranormal romance by Deborah Cooke (who also writes as Claire Delacroix and Claire Cross). This book came out on the 5th. I had it preordered and I haven't had time to do more than fondle its cover and breathe the lovely new book smell. (Does anyone else smell books?) This book features a dragon-shapeshifting hunk. How could I help myself? Plus, I've been dying to read this ever since Deborah announced the sale. It's the first of three. I think the next one is coming out in August. (OMG I just checked and it's coming out on my birthday!)

Next up is a romantic suspense, Freefall, by JoAnn Ross. I first met JoAnn through the RWA Online group and found her to be generous with her wisdom. In fact, some of her stories about her adventures in publishing are so interesting that just reading them turned me into a fan. I don't usually read RS, but with JoAnn I make an exception, and I'm looking forward to having the time to read this one. BTW--Freefall hit the NYT Bestseller list at #20. Congrats JoAnn!

Souvenir, by Therese Fowler, is a special book, not only because it's a debut title for the author (who I met through my dearest friend from my angsty teens) but because Therese began blogging right after we cyber-met and has shared the publication process every step of the way. It's been like watching a baby being born, so, of course, I take delight on its entrance into the world, and (especially after reading the Prologue on her website) I've been waiting for it to arrive with tremendous impatience.

And last (because it has not arrived yet!) is Orange Mint and Honey, by Carleen Brice. I was planning to buy this at my nearby Target (because--along with Souvenir--it is a Target Bookmarked Breakout Title) but my local Target hadn't put it out yet. Amazon to the rescue (as usual). Here's what PW had to say: In Brice's accomplished debut, African-American Shay Dixon, a burnt-out grad student, has a visitation/fantasy/fever dream featuring Nina Simone, the high priestess of soul, who counsels Shay to go home. To do that, she must face Nona, the drunken failure of a mother she's not spoken to in seven years and blames for a harrowing childhood that left her emotionally scarred. How could I help myself?

Wish I had the time to actually read these books, but no! I'm spending my weekend writing and crafting. And I am still reading Jane Eyre (featured on the sidebar) and loving it. No, I had never read it before. Why is it that every time Rochester is in a scene I see him as Alan Rickman? Did he play Rochester in some production?

And I need the weekend to recover. It's been a busy, strange week, not the least because of attending a funeral on Wednesday for the son of an old friend, but also because on Friday I was served up on a skewer on a reader fansite. The joys of the internet, eh what?

It would be the perfect weekend to chuck everything else and read . . . hmmm.

Oh, if you haven't entered this week's drawing (and the last one for a good long while) check it out here.