Lynn Raye Harris

Hey, y’all! Today I’m over at the lovely Kate Walker’s blog, talking about my favorite (or favourite, as Kate would say) Kate Walker book! Come on over and visit. And I do hope your weather isn’t as hot as mine; they’ve been saying that we are way above normal for June, and boy is it hot. If this is June, I can’t begin to imagine August.

Y’all, I cleaned out my office on Saturday — okay, I started cleaning it out (it’s going to take a while!) — and I ran across all this swag from conferences and reader luncheons. I don’t need it, so I want to give it to you. There are bookmarks, postcards, buttons, gadgets, sample chapters, pens, a lanyard and other miscellaneous goodies. I’m tossing in one of my lovely tote bags to hold it all. Leave me a comment for a chance to win (you can say “I want the swag” if you can’t think of anything else).

I’ll run the contest through the week. All the usual caveats apply – void where prohibited, etc, etc. If it fits in an international shipping box, I’ll mail it to any country that is served by US flat rate priority mail. All entries will be added to my spam free newsletter. It’s free, I do not share your email with anyone, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

UPDATE: We have a winner! Using the handy dandy random number generator, the winner is Sabrina! Sabrina, email me your details, and I’ll get everything in the mail to you!

Periodically, I go through this on the blog where I ask whether or not it makes sense to keep blogging. It seems as if group blogs, for example, come and go these days. One group of critique partners or contest finalists or friends decides to start a blog. Another group reaches the end of the line and shuts down (the Wet Noodle Posse, for one).

What causes a blog to sputter to a close? Is it a lack of readers? A lack of new topics? A feeling you’ve trod that ground before?

I think it’s probably a combination of all these. There are a lot of blogs out there calling for attention, and readers only have so much time. I know that’s the case for me. Some blogs I used to follow religiously, I’m lucky if I get to once every couple of months now.

Sometimes, you feel as if you’re recycling the same topics again and again.

With Facebook, Twitter, and even that old dinosaur My Space, time is fragmented. Blogging no longer has the appeal it once had. Oh, I have no intention of shutting this blog down just yet. I’ve long since stopped updating daily. I try to do so weekly, and I love the immediacy of being able to communicate about my releases or contests or just something on my mind and engage in a conversation with the people who comment.

So now I’m interested in what you think about blogging. Do you read as many as you used to? Do you spend more time on social media sites now? What kinds of things do you want to know when you visit author blogs? Are you interested in the author’s process and posts on writing? Or do you want to know what it’s like writing for a major publisher? Maybe you want to know how the author creates her stories.

Or maybe you just want to know she’s human and has a crazy life just like yours. That she doesn’t have breakfast in bed every morning, doesn’t climb into her limo to go shopping, and doesn’t jet off to fabulous locations at the drop of a hat.

What is it that brings you to this blog? If you blog, what are your feelings about the process?

The winner of my quickie blog contest for a $5 Starbucks card and a signed backlist book is Denise! Pop me an email with your details, Denise, and let me know whether you’d like SPANISH MAGNATE, RED-HOT REVENGE or CAVELLI’S LOST HEIR!

Here’s Denise’s photo of THE PRINCE’S ROYAL CONCUBINE in the wild:

Thank you, Denise! And thanks to everyone who participated!

First, I’m over at I Heart Presents today talking about storms!

And second, the Seven Sassy Sisters are giving away a copy of my July UK release, The Devil’s Heart. Just pop on over and see what they’re up to for a chance to win!

Today, I’m talking Beach Reads over at Tote Bags ‘n’ Blogs! Drop by and share your beach recommendations with us!

To all those who have ever served, many thanks for the sacrifices you and your families have made. As a military brat and wife, I know that the family serves right along with the military member. The military is a great life in many ways, and it’s a hard life too. If not for Uncle Sam, I’d have never gotten to live in the cool places I did or travel to some of the most interesting places in the world.

In my family, we have a boatload of veterans. My husband, my dad, my mom, my grandfather, my great-uncle, and my father-in-law.

To all the families today who are celebrating Memorial Day without their loved ones, my heart goes out to you. May they come home safe. And for those who made the ultimate sacrifice, no words are adequate. All I can say is thank you.

Today I’m a guest on Blaze author Tawny Weber’s blog. Come on over and say hi!

Quick Six Interview

Hubby and I are mired in busy-ness. I’m trying to finish the current book I’m working on, which is almost there, and the hubby is working on his MBA classwork. The beautiful days of summer are beginning, and we’re too busy to go to the pool or enjoy the sunshine for more than a quick break. In fact, this coming weekend when everyone else will be going on Memorial Day holidays, we’ll be here, working. Well, he’ll be working, because I MUST be done by then. Other than a quick read through, I won’t have the pressure I’ve had for the past few weeks. Don’t know what I’ll do with myself — except, yes, I’ll probably start another book. I have ideas for the next few, so I want to get them on paper before I forget.

The most exciting thing going on at Chez Harris, for me anyway, is that you can now find THE PRINCE’S ROYAL CONCUBINE in stores! Here’s proof:

I don’t know why the book looks so orange in photos. It’s not orange at all! A reader sent me a photo too, and yep, it was orange. Have you seen the book in your neck of the woods? Is it orange?

Comment here, send me a photo at lynn AT lynnrayeharris DOT com, and I’ll enter you in a quick little blog contest for a choice of one of my backlist books and a $5 gift card to Starbucks!

NOTE: since I know you aren’t hovering in bookstores as I write this, the contest will be open for a few days.

Though I am completely mired in getting this book finished in the next two weeks, I took a short break this weekend to attend my chapter’s annual luncheon. Heart of Dixie puts on a fabulous luncheon, y’all! And I’m not just saying that because I have to. We have a huge ballroom, a sit down meal, and lots of prizes — not to mention fabulous guest speakers.

This year, Julia London was our speaker. Long before I was published, I was a Julia London fan. In fact, one of my favorite contemporaries of all time is a Julia London book: Beauty Queen. I love this book with a deep and abiding love! BQ was the second book in the Lear family trilogy — all the books were good — but something about BQ really resonated with me. Rebecca Lear, the former Miss Texas with no discernible skills, a young son, and a rich husband who divorced her and left her a mess, is just wonderful to see in action. You’d think it’d be hard to sympathize with a woman this beautiful, but in fact it really is easy because Julia makes this character so likeable. When Rebecca meets Matt Parrish — they have a misunderstanding over a quesadilla — things really get interesting.

I have hauled this book around the world, and when I realized Julia was coming to Huntsville, I took it down off the keeper shelf and carted it to the luncheon. Julia very graciously signed it for me — and I didn’t realize it was out of print until she told me. This book should be available on the Kindle! Everyone should have a chance to read the fabulousness that is Beauty Queen!

Okay, so I got Julia to sign my book. We chatted for a bit, and then it was time for the doors to open. I shared a table with the most wonderful people! Lonnie Payne and his wife Tabetha have been coming to this event for 10 years. They were also accompanied by Heather Hart and her mother (the only lady whose name I didn’t get!), and Patricia Lloyd (attending her 2nd luncheon) joined us as well. Rounding out the table were my mother and her friend, Margie.

We had a great lunch, and then it was time for the basket giveaways. When I went up to draw a winner for my basket, I drew Julia’s name! I hope Julia likes Harlequin Presents. My table won about 8 baskets between them, which was awesome. Apparently, Lonnie comes along because he has this knack of winning raffles. He doesn’t read romance novels, but he supports his wife’s love of them — and he won three baskets!

After the basket raffles, we had a book signing — and then several of us stayed and went to dinner later with Julia. It was a great day, and though I was completely worn out, I needed the break from this book. So now I’m back at work, but I’m glad I had that little bit of time away where I could chat with readers and other writers and have a generally great time.

With the peeps at my table

Julia London and me

Signing books