Lynn Raye Harris

I’m still here, though I haven’t posted lately! On deadline, as usual, and writing like crazy to get it all done. Add in an emergency trip to see my father-in-law, who had open heart surgery, and I’m feeling frantic. (FIL is now doing very good, though it was questionable at first.) I have a Readers’ Luncheon coming up in a couple of weeks, and then there’s RWA in New York City — which I am SO looking forward to! My editor will be there, and though I saw her in London in September, it will be nice to see her again. She’s a little bitty cute thing, of course, and I feel huge in comparison. Must get to work on that treadmill again!

I’ve had a fabulous review for The Devil’s Heart that I wanted to share with you! Over at Everyday is the Same, Rebecca says, “So far in this challenge I have only given two books a 5 star rating, well this fabulous book by Lynn Raye Harris has become the third! I was absolutely blown away by it.”

Well, I can tell you that certainly made my day! The Devil’s Heart is still available for order from all the major online retailers and eHarlequin, and you can also get it on your ereader — Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo, etc. There are links on the book page, or you can go to your favorite online store and search. And if you give it a try, let me know what you think!

Next month, Behind the Palace Walls hits the stores! This book was originally released in the UK under the title Prince Voronov’s Virgin — so if you’ve been waiting for it, it’s almost here! Though you can order it now from eHarlequin and they will ship it to you without the wait.

And that ends the book commercial!

I’m currently working on a sequel to my most recent UK release, Strangers in the Desert. It features a hot sheikh. I love hot sheikhs. I’ve left Sheikh Malik and his heroine in the desert, so must get back to work and see what they’re up to today. I hope it’s something fun.

(Oh, just discovered these blog widgets! Aren’t they cool?)

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Thanks to everyone who’s been ordering Behind the Palace Walls from eHarlequin! You’ve kept this book in the top five for days now! This is the North American release of Prince Voronov’s Virgin, so if you’ve been dying to read about a Russian prince and his heroine, you can hop over to eHarlequin and download the book right now in ebook, or order your copy in print and it will be dispatched right away. If you want to wait a few more weeks, you’ll find this book in stores in early June!

I hope you enjoy the story, and I hope to hear from you!

It’s been an eventful week and a half here in Alabama. First, my friend Beverly Barton died. And then we got slammed with severe weather that has left over 200 dead and wiped out entire towns. I can’t even begin to comprehend the extent of the damage. Though my house is fine, and all my family and friends are fine too, I had no power for 4 days. I lost all the contents of my refrigerator — not a big deal in the scheme of things. In the days immediately after the power went out, we had no cell phone service. That came back slowly.

The morning after the tornadoes, our local grocery store was one of only a very small number to open. It was crowded with people getting the kind of food they could eat for days without power. Fortunately, I have a camp stove (actually a Korean stove that uses butane) and was able to heat food. Gasoline was an issue too. Without power, the pumps don’t work, so there was panic over gas. We had one car that was full. The other needed gas (lesson learned: always fill up when they say severe weather is coming).

But we’ve made it through, our power is on again, and life seems somewhat normal in Chez Harris. And yet it isn’t really. We are lucky enough to be in the 30% that have power right now. Most of Madison County still does not. Hubby went to work today only to have to come home again because there’s no power.

Minor, minor inconveniences when there are people who have lost everything. If you want to help, you can donate to organizations like the Red Cross. Text 90999 and $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill. Or just go and donate online, or get the address for where to send a check.

Finally, though it’s surreal to say this, I also have to let you, my readers, know that if you’ve been wanting to read Prince Voronov’s Virgin, you can order it now through eHarlequin. It’s available a month early in both print and ebook.

I hope you are safe and well in your corner of the world. Best to you all!

Dear friends, it’s been a very busy few weeks! Last week I was in Los Angeles for the RT Booklovers Convention — and what a fabulous time I had! Along with visiting Hollywood and the Walk of Fame, I went to the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, and Beverly Hills. No trip to LA would be complete without a shopping excursion to Rodeo Drive, however.

Here’s a photo of me with Kimberly Lang and (standing) Kira Sinclair as we enjoyed a lovely glass of wine and some snacks at an outdoor cafe on Rodeo Drive. Yes, we are dressed for touring rather than glammed up, but the cafe staff didn’t seem to mind.

I have lots more pictures, and will try and share those very soon. Of course I came back to a deadline, and there’s still one suitcase I haven’t unpacked….

I had some good news while in California! Cavelli’s Lost Heir and The Prince’s Royal Concubine are both finalists in the Short Series Contemporary Category of the WisRWA’s Write Touch Readers’ Award! I am *very* excited about this news! And of course I keep pinching myself and wondering if it’s true. Then there’s the part of me that keeps whispering in that insidious voice that no one else entered…..

Writers, we are insecure balls of mush!

In other good news, my UK release Strangers in the Desert is sitting at #2 on the Mills & Boon bestseller list this week! And Heartless Rebel, part of the Bad Blood Collection, is also available and getting some good reader feedback! If you’ve come to my site looking for information about Heartless Rebel, I don’t have a page for the book yet. It’s on my To Do list! This book will be my November Harlequin Presents release, so it’s definitely on my list of things to get done soon!

In the meantime, I have a book due very soon and another one by mid-July, so I’d better stop chatting and get to work. Hope you are all having a lovely day wherever you may be! We finally have gorgeous weather in Alabama, and I am enjoying it through the window.

Let me know what’s up with you! I love hearing from you all…..

PS: The Devil’s Heart is still available wherever books are sold! Harlequin made a poster of the cover for me for RT — I carried that thing back on two flights, and it made it home unscathed. I love it!

It’s been a heckuva week over here at Chez Harris! I’ve been trying to get ready for my trip to LA for the RT Booklovers Convention next week, and I had to go see the accountant about my taxes. I *still* don’t know what the damage will be, but I’m quite positive I owe money this year. Not a problem since I was smart and followed good advice from Linda Howard: always put a third of your earnings away for taxes. I did that. Now it’s just the size of the check I’ll have to write that worries me.

I haven’t been completely absent on the blogosphere — I’ve been guest blogging in a few places!

I was at I Heart Presents, talking about amazing jewelry and passionate love affairs.

I was at the Pink Heart Society, where I gave an easy recipe for jambalaya.

And today I’m at the Writing Playground, talking about writing and books and giving away a book.

Hop over and join us!

Oh, and The Devil’s Heart is in stores now!

Today’s free book over at eHarlequin is The Prince’s Royal Concubine! If you buy two books, you get my book for free. That’s a pretty good deal!

Have you heard of the romance novel trading cards that will be available at RT and RWA? See this site for details. Basically, authors are making character trading cards for their novels — and readers can collect them all! I thought this was such a cool idea that I had two cards designed.

Here’s the card for The Devil’s Heart:

And here’s the one for Behind the Palace Walls:

These are side by side views. The cover will be the front, and the hero will be the back. If you’re at RT in a few weeks, come and visit me at the booksigning and pick up your trading cards! When I get them in, I may offer to mail some out to readers who can’t attend. Stay tuned for details!

I have a new cover to share with y’all! This is from the UK release of The Heartless Rebel, which will hit North America in November of this year.

Jack…Red-Hot. Renegade. Restless.

Notorious gambler Jack no longer gets a buzz from the risks he takes at the card table. In fact it bores him. Until one night he wins more than he ever bargained for… His prize is stunning Cara Taylor – she might be down on her luck but she certainly doesn’t need rescuing by a card-shark like Jack! Now she’s stuck with him she doesn’t know whether to love him or loathe him.

This story is part of an eight book continuity series. In the UK, it’s called Bad Blood. In North America, I think it will be called The Notorious Wolfes. I totally love this cover! It completely captures Jack Wolfe. This story takes place in the French Riviera, Paris, London, New Orleans, and Las Vegas. I had a great time writing it — and I hope you’ll enjoy this story when it comes your way!

Writing as a career is amazing. It’s awesome and wonderful and a dream come true. And yet, there will be bad days. Days when you worry and sweat and fear that you aren’t getting it right or that people don’t love your books and you’re doomed to fail. Yes, it’s true, even published authors are insecure.

So the next time you’re staring at crappy contest scores or feeling gutted because you got a rejection letter, I want you to remember something. Remember that no one is gonna die over this. No one’s life hangs in the balance as you type away, as you sweat and work and fear. It’s only you and your fears sitting at the computer.

Maybe that’s a small comfort. Or maybe it’s no comfort.

I know this means everything to you. I really do. But some days you just have to tell yourself it’s not brain surgery. Back away from the keyboard. Read; take time for yourself. Live life.

The words will come again. And they may come better than before. The pie is not finite, y’all. If someone else sells before you do, it doesn’t mean you won’t. It doesn’t mean your chances are gone, or slimmer.

Just write. The rest will sort itself out. No one’s gonna die if you get rejected. And that’s really kind of a good thing, right? (And believe me, there are days when I need to take my own advice! Days when I worry I’m truly the worst writer on the planet.)

And now I want to move on to happier things and tell you that The Devil’s Heart is available a month early from eHarlequin! You can order it for your e-reader or a paperback copy. You can read an excerpt on this site, or a different one here.

This book was rewritten massively between the first time I turned it in and when it was accepted. I’m sure I was an insecure mess as I worked on it, but it’s out there now and it’s your turn to tell me if I got it right. I hope you enjoy!