Lynn Raye Harris

Good news for readers! Amazon is still selling the Kindle version of The Devil’s Heart for an amazing price: $1.71! If you like bargains, then you should snap this one up. It’s gotten some good reviews — RT Book Reviews gave it 4 Stars and said it had ‘Lots of conflict, hot love scenes, and a satisfying ending’. Readers on Goodreads seem to like the book a lot too.

A diamond, and a deal with the devil…

Francesca D’Oro was just eighteen when darkly sexy Marcos Navarre swept her up the aisle—then fled before the ink on the marriage licence had dried. Marcos might have given Francesca a jewel for her finger, but he stole another: the Devil’s Heart—a dazzling yellow diamond he believed belonged to his family…

Years later Francesca, no longer so youthfully naïve, is determined to reclaim the precious gem! But she’s forgotten that Marcos lives up to the treasure’s name—and dealing with the devil is always dangerous!

$1.71 on Kindle – it’s a bargain! I hope you’ll give it a try, and I hope you’ll let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for reading my books! Y’all are the reason I keep writing them.

It should probably come as no surprise that I love fashion, if you’ve ever seen me at conference. And by fashion I don’t just mean designer labels — I mean looking good in my clothes. I mean buying things that I think flatter and fit my shape, and dressing to the nines when appropriate (like conferences!). I also like bargain shopping. I won’t turn my nose up at a bargain if the fit and fabric is awesome, believe me!

I was interested in the Missoni collection that Target trotted out this week. Vaguely interested, because I’m not sure how all that zigzagy stuff would look on me. I know that Missoni is important in the fashion world (Angela Missoni is the designer behind the name) and I really kind of wanted to go and try some things on.

But I wanted to do this at my leisure, when I had time. No way in hell did I anticipate the feeding frenzy that would descend on Target once this collection went live. I heard that the Target website was down for hours. And that women were shopping the stores the way they shop the Filene’s Basement wedding dress sale (which is amusingly called the Running of the Brides) — just blast in and grab stuff off the rack, then trade sizes until you get what fits you.

No. Way. In. Hell.

There’s nothing I need that badly that I’m going to race through freaking TARGET, people, and snatch zigzagy prints off the racks and hope I can trade with someone. I have yet to go to Target (had hoped to go this weekend), but I’m sure it will all be gone by the time I get there. I should have anticipated this. After all, last year when they brought out the Mulberry for Target line, that pink leopard bag I wanted was gone within hours.

I kind of liked this jacket. But it is, you guessed it, out of stock. (This is not the usual zigzag print, obviously.)

I think the lesson here is that real women want designer clothes at prices we can afford. Why does a store like Target pair up with a designer and then not anticipate how well the things will sell? They never did get anymore of the Mulberry stuff in after it sold out. Why not? In fact, I just saw the pink leopard Mulberry purse on eBay for $80. It was only $40 at Target when it debuted.

I love fashion, but I won’t go out of my way to get something. I’m not standing in line for hours (did that with iPad, just to see what it was like, and still had to wait weeks to get what I really wanted) and I’m not fighting ladies hell bent on grabbing whatever is there.

Give me fashion at affordable prices, and make sure you’ve got enough of it! The next thing I’m looking forward to, no kidding, is the Jennifer Lopez collection. I want to see what kind of things they come up with. I think it’s in stores now, but I’ve not had a chance to check it out yet.

What are your thoughts? Any collection you’re looking forward to, or love to pieces? Or does it even matter to you? Would you stand in line for a new collection, or say to hell with it like me?

It was a long weekend in many respects. This is what I did:

I made crawfish dip for a party on Saturday.

I had my eyebrows ripped out with hot wax.

I went to dinner with friends and drank Pomegranate Margaritas.

I wore these shoes to dinner:

After dinner, I lurched around the mall with a group of women, squealing over clothes and shoes and generally having a good time.

Saturday, I attended a workshop given by Morgan Doremus and Stephanie Klose from RT magazine.

Saturday evening, I attended a party with homemade BBQ, the aforementioned crawfish dip, and lots of yummy Southern cooking.

I laughed my butt off. (I wish it were that easy to shed fat.)

I got home late and the cats were pissed. Fed them and dealt with the fall out.

Got to bed late.

Slept late. (Embarassingly late.)

Talked to a friend for 2.5 hours Sunday morning.

Watched football with Hubby.

Talked to another friend for an hour.

Wrote a blog post while football was on.

Thought of significance of 9/11, cried a bit with all the tributes and that Budweiser commercial, but decided not to write about my 9/11 memories. Many people have done so more eloquently than I.

And that’s the weekend. Notice there was no writing in there. Today, back to work. Oh, and the New Voices competition begins tomorrow. I’m a mentor, and looking forward to it!

I’m talking bargain shopping over at Tote Bags N Blogs today! Stop by and share your bargain finds with us!

Clearly, it isn’t spring yet. But a recent “What Not to Wear” binge sent me to my closet, brimming with determination. Time to get rid of stuff. I have a bad habit of keeping things that no longer fit in the belief that if I just lose that last five or ten pounds, they’ll fit again. Clinton and Stacy have made me realize that’s not very good in practice.

I’m not done yet, but I’ve gotten rid of several things. Truthfully, I think more than half of the closet will go. And that’s not because it’s all too small, but because I don’t actually wear most of it. I keep stuff thinking I’ll wear it, but I somehow never do.

The beauty of this process is that it gives me a fabulous excuse to go shopping for new clothes. I wish I had that 5K that Clinton and Stacy hand over every episode, but if I spend that much on clothes, my husband will probably kill me. Guess I’ll have to be reasonable.

Presents heroines often end up going on fabulous shopping sprees, don’t they? I know I’ve written one spree, when Nico takes Lily to Paris, but my editor made me cut most of the shopping detail (darn it). But I love to read those sprees. Jennie Lucas wrote a great one not too long ago, and one of my favorites is in one of Jane Porter’s sheikh books. I love the parade of clothes, the handbags, the shoes, the super-expensive price tags, and the enigmatic hero who stands by and basically says that money is no object.

It’s not the money, though, it’s the way he wants to clothe the heroine in beautiful things. It just gives me that little catch in my heart. Like the shopping scene in “Pretty Woman” when Richard Gere goes to the stores with Julia Roberts, after the shop girls wouldn’t wait on her, and buys her all those gorgeous and swanky clothes. Oh swoon.

I know my hubby would buy me whatever I wanted if a) we could afford it and b) he didn’t have to go shopping with me. But of course he’s not a billionaire and I’m not a 20-something Twiggy who can wear anything and look fabulous in it.

*If* I could go on that fantasy shopping trip, I’d hit the Christian Louboutin store for shoes, and then I’d go to Prada, Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Vera Wang, and etc. I’m not sure I’d know how to act when faced with those price tags, though.

So if you could go on a fantasy shopping trip, what would you buy? Doesn’t have to be clothes, btw. Cars, vacations, homes, whatever. What is your fantasy?

I turned in my revisions last night at about midnight. Since my editor is in the UK, that means they’d be sitting in her inbox when she arrived in the morning. What a relief to get them gone! The work isn’t done until she tells me it is, so no getting my hopes up that the book is finished yet. There may be some more work to do.

In the meantime, I have a sheikh novella to write! My lovely editor called me this morning to talk about him. I suspected there would be work to do there, and of course I was right. The novella is a new format for me, so it’s also a learning experience to try and pack all the power and emotional punch of a Presents into 25k. That story is due in about 3 weeks now, so guess who will be busy and scarce once more?

But I’m excited about the holiday this week! What American doesn’t love Thanksgiving? A day dedicated to eating and spent with family? Can’t wait. We’re going to my mother’s house, and one of my brothers will be there with his family too. I’m making my famous Cajun stuffing, and I believe I’m in charge of cranberry sauce too. Tomorrow, my mother and I are going shopping together for many of the fixins (a Southern word, for my international readers, that means ingredients).

Of course I’m going to have to find a way to write during all this festivity. And I will. I’ll write early, write late, and write whenever there’s a free moment.

I’m still looking for my winner last week! Cynthia Gander, where are you? Email me for your book!

And, speaking of books, Cavelli’s Lost Heir is officially out in the UK now! If you live in the UK, and you happen to see my book on the shelves, could you snap a pic? Email to me at lynn AT lynnrayeharris DOT com, and I’ll send you a couple of my lovely bookmarks!

I’ve always wanted to go to India — and now it looks like I will. But it’s only my book going, not me. Darn! I have a different cover for India as well, which doesn’t surprise me. I rather like it!

Sometimes you just have to escape the office. Or, in my case, the house since my office is here. Yesterday, I was invited to join friends for a conference shopping trip. I met Marilyn, Danniele, and Kim of the Writing Playground at Ross early in the morning. The madness started at the dress rack, then continued through the store. We piled up clothes on shopping carts and then headed for the dressing rooms. I think I had to go through 3 rounds of trying stuff on (the Ross limit is 8 at one time in the dressing room).

Now tell me why it is that stores don’t understand women better? They have the most unflattering light in the dressing rooms. Harsh, stark, florescent. Heidi Klum would look bad under that light. And since I’m no Heidi, I definitely looked bad. All my flaws seemed amplified. I felt like a whale. A pale whale with limp hair.

Ahem. Anyway, I ended up putting back *most* of what I tried on, though I did find a few gems in the pile. Especially my dress for my publisher’s party. OMG, it’s gorgeous! And it looked awesome in spite of the lights. When that happens, it’s a keeper.

After Ross, we moved on to lunch. Eagle-eyed Marilyn spotted a woman reading a Harlequin Presents and, after psyching myself up, I went over and introduced myself and gave her a bookmark. She seemed pleased to get the bookmark, and I was very happy to meet someone who loves reading HP.

When we finished lunch, the mall and shoe shopping was next. I was pretty good considering how I feel about shoes. I only bought one pair of flip flops.

By the end of the day, I was tired but happy. I had a lot of fun shopping with friends (though Kimberly Lang and I have a problem — we have the same taste. We kept picking up the same dresses, shoes, and jewelry. Perhaps it’s no accident we both write for Harlequin Presents!) and I didn’t spend too much. I picked up four nice dresses, one super fabulous, and a pair of pants that I’ve already decided to return (see, Marilyn, told you it’d happen quick!).

Next week, I’ll head to the mall again. And probably DSW, just to see what sort of lovely shoes they may have. It’s time to start making my list of what outfit to wear to which event. If there are any holes to be filled, then one more shopping trip ought to do it. I hope.

What was the last big shopping trip you went on? Do you have any favorite stores? I love stores like Chico’s and White House – Black Market, but Ross is more budget friendly. I think my hubby appreciates that….

Yesterday’s winner: Aimee C! Aimee, email me your contact info and I’ll get a signed book into the mail…..

Friday, I mentioned doing some things this weekend that included shopping and the Farmer’s Market. I also said something about relaxing.

Huh.

Apparently, I failed to realize that all these things I wanted to do entailed going places, walking, lugging, doing things, etc. The upshot is that there was very little relaxing involved.

Though it WAS fun.

Weekend itinerary went something like this:

1. Meet friends and family at winebar Friday night. Laugh, talk, drink wine for a couple of hours.

2. Sat: wake up early, go to Starbucks for coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

3. Farmer’s Market. Where Hubby proceeded to gag on goat cheese while I explained to the artisan that though his cheese was indeed excellent, my Darling Hubby just can’t stand goat cheese — no matter how many herbs and spices are mixed in. I bought some, of course, and not just out of sympathy. I thought it was excellent.

4. Yard sale. It was impromptu, and no one was more surprised than I when Hubby pulled over. Unfortunately, there was nothing interesting. Except a typewriter. An actual typewriter! (Kids, see Google.)

5. Costco. Where Hubby proceeded to look grouchier and grouchier as I piled stuff into the cart. Apparently, “we need a few things” and “I haven’t been shopping in a while” mean something different to him than to me. Although he perked up when we bought two whole chickens for him to put in the smoker.

6. Drop Hubby and groceries at home. Go to mall. Walk around for 3 hours, looking for things for my readers’ luncheon giveaways, but only find stuff for me. Spend a very long time trying on clothes and shoes. Leave with a big shopping bag or two (in my defense, it was a SALE).

7. Back home. Grill out with Hubby.

8. Watch Blade Runner — never saw it before, very good, but I had weird dreams afterward.

10. We’re up to Sunday now. (Exhausted yet?) Wake up, have breakfast and coffee at home. Play on computer for a bit.

11. We’ve invited my parents over for smoked chicken. This means the house, otherwise known as an official disaster area, must be cleaned and tidied. This takes a very long time, entails scrubbing and decluttering, and makes my back hurt.

12. Prepare side dishes while Hubby smokes chicken.

13. Did I mention laundry?

14. Crap, have to go to the store and get a couple of things. Most important: some live flowers to replace the dying ones on the mantel.

15. I. Am. So. Tired.

16. Dinner is practically done, parents arrive, we eat and talk and have a good time.

17. More laundry. Some wine. Bed.

Apparently, having fun is a lot of work! I’m exhausted from this weekend. Did you relax this weekend? Or did you find out, like me, that weekends can be a workout? What’s your favorite thing to do to relax, or your favorite activity, during the weekend?

Monday Giveaway: Leave a comment to be entered for a copy of Jessica Anderson’s Nightkeepers!

The hubby and I couldn’t wait two more weeks (the date our current mobile phone contract ends). We decided to go ahead and get our iPhones. This means we have new phone numbers, but we discussed it back and forth and agreed that it wasn’t much of a hassle to let everyone know the new numbers. Plus our old numbers were from a town we don’t live in — and some of the wrong calls were getting irritating (bill collectors, principals discussing naughty children, etc). Neither of us uses our cell phones exclusively, or talk a lot, so the handful of people we had to inform wasn’t really a big deal.

And, oh wow, I can’t believe I had to wait this long to get my iPhone. To say I love it would be a massive understatement. The App Store (on iTunes) is incredible. I’m such a geek I’ve downloaded my very own copy of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Want to know what the 13th amendment says? I can whip that baby out in no time and tell you. Both these apps are free. In fact, all the apps I’ve downloaded are free with the exception of one. I bought (for about $5) an expense application that will allow me to track expenses at the time they occur and take a picture of the receipt to store with it. This should help me organize the actual receipts and expenses at home. (Believe me, I need this kind of thing because I’m not too organized. I stuff the receipts in a box.)

But one of the coolest things I downloaded was an app called Stanza. It’s an e-reader. Now, I’m not going to be reading books on my iPhone a lot — but when stuck in lines, or waiting rooms, or airports, it could come in handy. And Harlequin is currently giving away 16 e-books. They’ve also formatted them for Stanza. I clicked on the handy bookstore link in Stanza and it took me to a list of choices. I went to Harlequin and within moments had books on my phone. Too cool.

You can also download anything on Project Gutenberg. If you want to pay, you could read Twilight or countless other books on your phone. (I’m thinking I’m not going to pay for books that way. I’ll save that for the other toy I covet: the Kindle, about which there should be a major announcement today by Jeff Bezos and crew).

The other app I love is Pandora. Streaming radio on my phone? Oh heck yes. I have NYT headlines, a movie app that lets me know what’s currently showing in my area, the times, theaters, and trailers if I want to watch them. I have the Weather Channel; Facebook; Twitter. And yes, even the I Can Haz Cheezburger site, which is how I saw the cute reading kitty.

There are so many things I still need to learn, I’m sure, but I love this phone and all these cool things that go with it. I am such a geek. And it’s all my husband’s fault! I’d probably be clueless about techno gadgets if he hadn’t started wrapping me in his evil web years ago. Now, I’m almost as bad as he is.

Would you read books on your phone if you could? Do you like gadgets? Want a Kindle? (And I still do love real books, btw. Just think it would be neat to have a way to store a lot more books than my shelves will hold.)