Book Releases

Holding On (Colorado High Country #6) —
The Colorado High Country series returns with Conrad and Kenzie's story.

A hero barely holding on…

Harrison Conrad returned to Scarlet Springs from Nepal, the sole survivor of a freak accident on Mt. Everest. Shattered and grieving for his friends, he vows never to climb again and retreats into a bottle of whiskey—until Kenzie Morgan shows up at his door with a tiny puppy asking for his help. He’s the last person in the world she should ask to foster this little furball. He’s barely capable of managing his own life right now, let alone caring for a helpless, adorable, fluffy puppy. But Conrad has always had a thing for Kenzie with her bright smile and sweet curves. One look into her pleading blue eyes, and he can’t say no.

The woman who won’t let him fall…

Kenzie Morgan’s life went to the dogs years ago. A successful search dog trainer and kennel owner, she gets her fill of adventure volunteering for the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team. The only thing missing from her busy life is love. It’s not easy finding Mr. Right in a small mountain town, especially when she’s unwilling to date climbers. She long ago swore never again to fall for a guy who might one day leave her for a rock. When Conrad returns from a climbing trip haunted by the catastrophe that killed his best friend, Kenzie can see he’s hurting and wants to help. She just might have the perfect way to bring him back to the world of the living. But friendship quickly turns into something more—and now she’s risking her heart to heal his.

In ebook and soon in print!


About Me

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I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Denmark and traveled throughout Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two adult sons, whom I cherish. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. Along the way, my team and I won numerous state and several national awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, I was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism. Now I write historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense.

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Seductive Musings

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

AAR Favorite Books by Favorite Authors results




The results of All About Romance's Favorite Books by Favorite Authors poll are up, and I was surprised.

Here's the order in which you, my readers, put them:

1. Hard Evidence
2, Unlawful Contact
3, Ride the Fire
4. Untamed
5. Surrender
6. Extreme Exposure
7. Sweet Release
8. Carnal Gift

I'm not surprised by the last one, but I am surprised that Hard Evidence placed first, ahead of Unlawful Contact and Surrender. I'm also surprised that Untamed placed ahead of Surrender.

On Amazon, Surrender has by far the most reviews — 47 — and most are very positive. (Believe it or not, my mother and I don't post reviews for my books, and I don't know most of the people who do.) Unlawful Contact comes in just behind Surrender with 30 reviews, most of them five-star.

Hard Evidence, by contrast, took some serious knocks from reviewers, who found Tessa to be an irritant and TSTL. (To which I've always wanted to say, "I'm an investigative reporter and I've done some of those things. Am I TSTL?") Of course, Julian is pretty popular with all of you. No doubt about that.

And speaking of Julian, someone sent me this photo today to cheer me up, and I thought immediately of Dark Angel...



You should check out the Faves by Faves page at AAR because it has a pretty substantial list of authors whose books readers have ranked according to which they liked most. It's a great way to get acquainted with a new author and reassure yourself that you're not starting with her worst book.

I fully expected Surrender and Ride the Fire to be at the top, along with Unlawful Contact, with Untamed coming in at No. 4, perhaps.

And thanks to all of you who took the time to vote!

I told Lee Brewer, AAR's publisher liason and pollster, that I feel like a real romance novelist now that I'm included on the Faves by Faves page. She very generously replied that having a single book published makes a person an author.

So what do you think? Did the vote go the way you expected? How would you change it if you didn't. I know what Kristie J will say...

15 comments:

Debbie H said...

There is no way I could number your books. They are so very special, each in their own way.

Hope you get a break soon to rest and finish writing NAKED EDGE.

Hugs

LOL - OK, I'll say it. You know I love all your books, but I thought Ride the Fire would be first. As a matter of fact, I just reread it a week or so again and loved it just as much if not more than the first time. And oddly enough, I put Unlawful Contact in my purse this morning to take to work with me if I had a chance to read. I didn't - we had a company barbeque, but maybe tomorrow.

Ah, Debbie, you're so sweet. And it's nice for you to imply that each of my books is different. I try very hard not to write the same story over and over again.

And thanks for the wishes. I've actually been really, really down today. Totally depressed. I have no reason to feel that way. I think it's just exhaustion and too much stress. I got eight hours of sleep last night and I still could barely make it through the day.

Weird, huh?

Hi, Kristie — I''m so totally psychic! I knew exactly what you would say. And you're sweet to say you enjoy them all. I know Ride the Fire is your favorite. I'm so glad it stands up to the test of time and that you continue to enjoy it.

When I finished it, I told my editor, "I will never be able to write another book like this again. It's impossible." And that's held true, I think.

I hope you get a chance to be with Marc and Sophie. I have to stay away from them for now because any time I look at Unlawful Contact, I think what I'm writing is crap. I felt that way about UC, too, every time I looked at Hard Evidence, even a single page.

OY! Maybe my problem is that I'm crazy.

ronna15 said...

Hey Ms. Clare!

So, whats up? Just read the list. I have to tell its very difficult to rate your books considering i love them all. I just read 4 more of your books this week(they finally have it in our local library and im hogging all of it for weeks now.LOL!)and I just love them all. Since i've already read all the iteam series first,its kinda weird for me reading the historicals at first with the time difference and all, but I enjoyed it a lot. I love the different culture, the way women really protected their virtue and the characters' deeper value in love. I also enjoy very much the Gaelic(is that right?) language, its REALLY cool!

These are some of my favs:
"mo leannan", "mo luaidh" ,and "mo ghra tu"

So about the books, I cant really rank them cause then i've had to put something last but I dont want that cause I love them all;But from all that i've read, the tops are UNLAWFUL CONTACT, HARD EVIDENCE, and SURRENDER.

As you can see i've yet to read RIDE THE FIRE(our library doesnt have it yet) and from all the reviews i've seen in amazon and the comments of fellow fans, it is obviously your best one. I'm kinda irritated right now, cause after what i've read what they have to say, I really want to read RIDE THE FIRE now! ahhhh, guess i'll just have to wait!

Oh, well. Take care Ms. Clare!(haha!It rhyms!I'm so immature!)

and p.s. you're not crazy, well actually I take it back. Everybody is crazy in their own awesome way! Make the most of it, it could be fun!LOL.hope you get your rest soon and finnish NAKED EDGE too! I'll let you know what i think of RIDE THE FIRE as soon as I read it. Need not worry, i'm pretty sure i'll love it! ^-^

Lori said...

I'm shocked. Truly shocked I say. Kristie's fave is Ride the Fire?!?! Who knew? *giggling* I crack myself up!

I suppose it really depends on if you are a contemp or historical fan first, and then how long a memory you have, LOL. I know a lot of people who only know you as a contemporary author. When I say "You should read her historicals," I get a blank look like "Wow - she writes historicals, too?"

Whatever's going on, I hope you're feeling chipper and yourself again soon :)

ronna15 said...

OH!btw, i've just read the interviews of the MacKinnon brothers and the Blakewel/Kenleign family and i really enjoyed it! Especially the MacKinnon brother's bickering! I hops you make more of those. I cant wait for Connor's story!

I've only read one of the I-team books so far, but of the historicals - wow. I've loved each of the four I've read,for different reasons.

Technically, I think your writing has improved with each book, so I'd have to rank Untamed first. For compelling characters, I'd choose Nicholas and Bethie. They made me cry. For sizzling chemistry, Iain and Annie. If I had to choose one of your heroes to come live with me in a little cabin in the Cape Breton Highlands, it would be Morgan. I love his steadiness and thoughtfulness. He's so much the middle brother. For a short fling, it would be Connor. So for me, ranking depends on what I'm ranking them for.

Jane said...

I love all your books, but "Unlawful Contact" is my favorite. I heart Marc.

Goodness gracious, Ronna! You're a readng machine. Four in one week? How can you even keep the characters and the stories straight? I'm amazed.

And I'm glad that you're enjoying the historicals also. That's very gratifying. Most people tend to like one sub-genre or another, without much crossover between historicals and RS. But I think I've brought some people across that line going one direction or the other.

Good luck finding Ride the Fire! I don't know that I can say it's my favorite — I love the MacKinnon's Rangers series and Unlawful Contact and Hard Evidence also — but it is very special to me for very personal reasons.

I'm glad you enjoyed the interviews. They were fun to do. I still have some left — Lord William's, for example. Or did I post that?!? I can't remember.

Hi, Linda — It's good you have the heroes sorted out according to purpose. LOL! And Connor doesn't even have a book yet. Which historical haven't you read?!?

And I'm trying to remember which I-Team book you read, too.

Hi, Jane — Thanks so much! I heart Marc, too. I heart them all. I'm very unfaithful, I guess. But Marc, Julian, Iain, Morgan and Connor are probably my faves. Which doesn't leave much out, does it?


Hi, Lori — You cracked me up, too. RTF? Kristie? No way! LOL!

Wow, I'm surprised some people only know I write contemps. That's funny, given I have more historicals than contemps out there by far. But I suppose it's because most people only read one or the other and discover whatever genre they like best.

And thanks. I came home from the paper early today because I needed to sleep. I had lunch and slept for three hours. I'd probably still be asleep if some salesman hadn't called. But it was time to fix dinner anyway. I think I'm just exhausted from months of pushing at the paper. So I'm trying to take it easy.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Pamela!

I'm happy that Hard Evidence is #1. It's my favorite PC book. And no, I didn't vote for HE a million times. I couldn't vote because I'm having trouble connecting to the AAR website. So that means a lot of people love HE as much as I do.

Tessa is sooo not TSTL! I love Tessa. She's adorable and brave. I guess that means you're adorable and brave, too, huh? LOL.

I can't wait for Naked Edge :)

Shaz

ronna15 said...

Yup!4 in a week. I've had nothing else to do. I need a job soooooo bad! I'm out of money and no one's hiring! Oh well.

So the books, I'm actually really happy that I liked your historicals, cause I've read other historicals and they really suck! But since I really liked your iteam series, I was willing to give this a try, and I was not disappointed, especially since I've read the MacKinnon brothers first. Those trio are like my fav characters! Anyway, it was not hard to keep up with the characters and stories, especially cause its a series. After I finnished one, I just HAVE to pick up the next. The trickiest I might say is the date. I keep looking back at the date in the first few chapters to keep up with the passing time. LOL! I've filled them all with dog-ears so I can look back to a scene I like. The only downside to all this reading though, is that after I've finnish RIDE THE FIRE, I've got nothing more of your's to read.

Oh, well. Just have to wait for NAKED EDGE and Connor's story I guess.

Take care Ms. Clare

-Ronna ^-^

Extreme Exposure is the only I-Team book I've read so far. I haven't read Sweet Release or Carnal Gift, so I guess it's three, not four that I've read. I'm counting Connor's story before it's even done,lol! By the way, Ride The Fire is available on Amazon with the new cover - that's where I got it.

Hi, Shaz — I'm glad you're happy with the results. Sorry you were unable to vote! That stinks! And thanks! You're so sweet! I don't think Tessa is TSTL either. I'm glad you didn't find her to be so, either.

Hi, Ronna — I'm glad you've been able to enjoy the historicals as well. As for the dates... Well, I have to keep a calendar in order to keep track of them myself. I'm probably not as good as I good be about keeping the day of the week or the date clear in the story.

When I wrote Extreme Exposure, I realized almost toward the end that I had almost no weekends in the story. Friday would be followed by another work day. LOL! I had to go back and fix that little problem. I just don't think of it when I'm writing.

Hi, Linda A — I'm glad you were able to find RTF. It was out of print for a while there. Too funny about counting Connor's book. I was going to ask you to mail it to me if you have it on hand. I'd like to type it in and get it off to my editor.

Wouldn't it be awesome to time travel forward to when my books are done and then take them back and revise them to make them better? You don't know HOW MANY TIMES I've fantasized about doing just that. :-)

Anonymous said...

I was really surprised by the order, but I'm certain it's only because "Surrender" is my absolute favorite (actually it's in my top 5 romances I've EVER read). Since I haven't read "Unlawful Contact" yet, I'll certainly be looking forward to it! I'm "rationing" your books to myself Pamela . . . I don't want to find myself high and dry soon. LOL! ;)

Re: The feeling depressed thing without really knowing why . . . I don't know your age Pamela, but if you are in your 40's, it could very well be normal hormone stuff (any fuzzy thinking moments or forgetting your train of thought more often?)! Don't worry too much about it if that's the case. ;)
K. ("K. ODoharty")

Hi, K —

I'm delighted that SURRENDER is in your top 5 ever. What a huge honor for Iain and Annie! Have you read RIDE THE FIRE? I expected it to be at the top.

Yes, I'm in my 40s, and I'm facing a confluence of Empty Nest Syndrome (*sniff*), exhaustion, and probably hormonal stuff, too, though I have no way of knowing. I had my uterus and one ovary removed when I was 27. My right ovary decided to pop, and I almost bled to death during the two days it took them to figure out what was wrong. So I have no idea what's going on with my cycle or hormones. I still have one ovary, so I've never had to take hormones. But I know my mother had pre-menopausal symptoms at age 43. It should be hitting me soon.

As for the empty nest, some moms are delighted when their kids are gone. But I'm very close to mine and having them leave is the hardest thing I've had to deal with — much tougher than my divorce.

I'm going to re-do the house and hopefully get some traveling in this next year, too. That ought to perk me up. Now if only I could meet my own Iain... :-)

And thanks!

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