Childhood Memories of Vampires Past

This year Halloween is not my usual experience. Typically, I love this holiday and this season. The scent of burning leaves lingers in the crisp air, caramel apples release their tangy juices with each bite, the warmth of a plush blanket and the first crackling fire in the fireplace, the mystery that is All Hallows Eve. I love it all! 

But having just had surgery last week, I'm still recovering and not feeling up to donning a costume this year. I'm bummed, but it's better for me. I do have something very easy in mind, though, so I don't feel totally left out at the office tomorrow. I'll post a picture tomorrow of my...ahem...brilliance. LOL! 

In the meantime, I'd like to revisit a past blog post from one of my childhood Halloween memories; one that I'll never forget and not necessarily for heartwarming reasons. Although, it might explain my intrigue with vampires, which seems in so in vogue right now with "Twilight," "True Blood," and "The Vampire Diaries," etc. Little did I know that at five years old, I was so ahead of my time! ;-) 

I invite you to take a brief peek back into my childhood.

So, feel free to read it then tell me, what is your most memorable Halloween childhood experience? :-) 

Huge Local Book Signing Event!

Do you love to meet authors? Are you looking for some new reading material and some new authors to try out? Well, this is your chance! 

On this Saturday, October 10th The Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America chapter is sponsoring a Book Fair at the Bellevue Hilton Hotel. The event runs from 4:30pm-6:00pm in the Skyview Ballroom and includes signing opportunities with more than 50 best-selling and award-winning authors, including Cherry Adair, Susan Anderson, Claire Delacroix, Robert Dugoni, Yasmine Galernorn, Lisa Jackson, Susan Mallery, Bob Mayer, Katie MacAlister, Jane Porter, Christine Warren and many more. 

There's no better way to meet some of your favorite authors right in your own backyard. And with the holidays right around the corner, this is the perfect opportunity to get some books personalized for the readers in your life. Several genres will be represented, including historical romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, young adult, contemporary romance, women's fiction, and more!

This is a free event and open to the public. The Bellevue Hilton is located at 200 112th Avenue SE, Bellevue, Washington. For more information and a full list of authors, click here. 

See you there!

And The September Winners Are...

Thanks to everyone who entered the September contest for Sallie Day's The Palace of Strange Girls. 

If I didn't draw your name, make sure you pick up a copy of your own! 

The three winning names are: 

• Debby Lee 

• Virginia 

• Jenn & John DeCuir

Congratulations to the winners! Be sure to email me at christina@christinaarbini.com with your mailing address. The publisher will then ship your book directly to you within 2 weeks. Keep watching for more contests coming up! 

September Book Giveaway Contest

This month, I'm featuring a blast from the past. The Palace of Strange Girls, from Grand Central Publishing, is a return to the year 1959 and spotlights a family struggling with secrets, passions, and fateful choices that transform all of them. This book will draw you in, stir emotion, paint an evocative picture of a bygone age and infuse thought-provoking symbolism throughout. 

Product Description

Blackpool, England, 1959. The Singleton family is on holiday. For seven-year-old Beth, just out of the hospital, this means struggling to fill in her 'I-Spy' book and avoiding her mother Ruth's eagle-eyed supervision. Her sixteen-year-old sister Helen, meanwhile, has befriended a waitress whose fun-loving ways hint at a life beyond Ruth's strict rules.

But times are changing. As foreman of the local mill, Ruth's husband, Jack, is caught between unions and owners whose cost-cutting measures threaten an entire way of life. And his job isn't the only thing at risk. When a letter arrives from Crete, a secret re-emerges from the rubble of Jack's wartime past that could destroy his marriage.

As Helen is tempted outside the safe confines of her mother's stern edicts with dramatic consequences, an unexpected encounter inspires Beth to forge her own path. Over the holiday week, all four Singletons must struggle to find their place in the shifting world of promenade amusements, illicit sex, and stilted afternoon teas in this touching and evocative novel. 

Author Bio:

Sallie Day was born in Lancashire, England. Her dad worked as a ‘loom overlooker’. After school she applied to College and stayed there one term before dropping out and moving to the other end of the country. The next 25 years were taken up with marriage and children and it was only when the children left home that she decided to take up writing as a hobby. Before she knew where she was, she'd graduated from the amateur writing group to an M.A. course at Manchester University and from there to writing  "Palace," which won the Portico Prize for Literature in 2008. 

To win one of THREE copies of this book, just leave a comment on this blog post (U.S. and Canada entries only, please). Please be sure to include your email address, so I can contact the you if you're a winner. I'll be drawing the three winning names on the morning of Saturday, October 3rd. 

And The August Winners Are...

Thanks to all of you who entered to win this contest! For those whose names I didn't draw, I hope you consider picking up a copy of Belinda Acosta's new release, "Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz." 

The three winners who will each receive a copy of this book are: 

• Lighthouse Sandy

• Andrea

• Melissa King

Congratulations to the winners! Please email me at christina@christinaarbini.com with your mailing addresses and I'll have the publisher ship your copy directly to you. 

Watch for next month's book giveaway contest to be announced soon!

August Book Giveaway Contest

There's nothing more complex than the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Half the time you're best friends, half the time you aren't speaking to each other and, well, all the time you love each other. Personally, I'm blessed to have a wonderful close bond with my own mother. She's my best friend, yet always a caring, generous and loving mother first. 

This month's book giveaway contest, "Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz" by Belinda Acosta, covers all of the nuances of these beautiful, yet sometimes frustrating, relationships. 

Book Description: 

All Ana Ruiz wanted was to have a traditional quinceañera for her daughter, Carmen. She wanted a nice way to mark this milestone year in her daughter's life. But Carmen was not interested in celebrating. Hurt and bitter over her father Esteban's departure, she blamed Ana for destroying their happy family, as did everyone else. A good man is hard to find, especially at your age Ana was told. Why not forgive his one indiscretion? Despite everything, Ana didn't want to tarnish Carmen's childlike devotion to her beloved father. But Ana knows that growing up sometimes means facing hard truths. In the end, Ana discovers that if she's going to teach Carmen anything about what it means to be a woman, it will take more than simply a fancy party to do it...

About the Author: 

Belinda Acosta lives and writes in Austin, Texas where she is a columnist for the Austin Chronicle. Her non-fiction has appeard in Poets & Writers, Latino USA, the Radio Journal of News and Culture, AlterNet, the San Antonio Current, and Latino Magazine. She is a member of Macondo, the writers' collective launched by acclaimed writer Sandra Cisneros. She loves knitting, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, chips and salsa, mariachi (good, make your soul leap from your body, mariachi); conjunto music (todo old school), and given the opportunity, will square dance. Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz is her first novel. 

For a chance at being one of the THREE winners who will get a copy of this new release, just leave a comment on this blog post. I'll be drawing the three winners on the morning of Sunday, 8/30. 

Only U.S. and Canada entrants, please. Also, please post your email address, so I'm able to reach you if you are a winner. 

Thanks, and good luck! Now go post a comment to enter! :-) 

It's Fun To Stay At The YMCA

Well, I did it. I finally got myself back into a regular work-out regime. Okay, technically that "regime" is only a few days old, but hey, you have to start somewhere, right? I recently joined a brand spanking new YMCA around the corner from my house. It's more than time to get back into shape and work off some of this stress I'm carrying around. Oh, I've tried the video work-outs in the privacy of my own living room, but I still manage to spend my evenings parked on the couch. Even when I got the new cable On Demand service and saw they had a channel of free work-outs, I found myself "sitting" and "watching." You know, I had to watch to decide if it was worth a try. ;-) And yes, I do have a nice treadmill out in my garage. But I got tired of staring at my storage shelves holding my old Barbie motor home. I just knew size zero Barbie was laughing at me through the window, along with her BFFs Francie and PJ. Oh, and don't get me started on Ken rolling his eyes at me. Rude and mocking...all of them. ;-)

Soooooooo, I''m now a card-carrying member of the YMCA. I must admit, I was a little disappointed that I wasn't greeted by the Village People. I thought surely the Indian would be giving me my orientation on the circuit training machines. He was probably off teaching a Zumba class. Instead, I got this chap who was probably in his early 20s. He was also one of the personal trainers. Did I mention the free 

12-week personal trainer program they offer? Yes, I will be paired up with one of the "young-un" personal trainers to get conditioned. Go ahead and start calling me Mrs. Robinson now. Sheesh. That's just wrong. Anyone looking at me working-out would think I'm concentrating hard on my strength building, when in reality I'm continuously doing the math in my head to remind myself EXACTLY how much older I am than these trainers. It would have made it a lot easier if the VP black Motorcycle guy was my trainer. He's probably at least 15 years older than me, plus I'm not a fan of the handle-bar mustache. A win-win situation. Although, he's probably get too sweaty in his plether chaps. That wouldn't be pretty at all. 

I've discovered a favorite machine -- the Elliptical. Not just any Elliptical, but the Elliptical Theater. Yes, you can plug in your earphones and watch TV on your own personal screen while working out. But they only have certain channels: FOX news, CNN, AMC, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel and the Food Channel. I was told this keeps the viewing "controlled" so people are only watching appropriate shows. As that was being explained during orientation, I pointed out the AMC station was currently airing "Pulp Fiction." Hmm. Not so appropriate. LOL! But I find it ironic that the first night of work-out I was watching a countdown on the best donut shops, and tonight was watching the best beaches around the world. So, instead of Barbie mocking me, I had oodles of bikini clad women and six-pack toting men romping in front of me. I swear that made me work out even harder. ;-) Hey, whatever works, I guess. 

So, that's how it's going so far. I'm working up my endurance before starting some of the cardio classes, but that will happen soon enough. And in the meantime, maybe I'll run into the elusive VP one of these days. Just tonight, I thought I saw the Construction Worker swimming laps in the pool. I know they're around there somewhere!

Come To The Emerald City!

Or more specifically, the Emerald City Writer's Conference!

Yes, it's that time of year again when aspiring and published writers are invited to register for the 2009 Emerald City Writer's Conference sponsored by the Greater Seattle Romance Writer's of America. The event will be held October 9-11, 2009 at the Hilton Bellevue Hotel in Bellevue, Washington, and features editor and agent appointments, educational and inspirational sessions, chat sessions with best-selling authors, social and networking events and a book fair open to the public.

The keynote speaker is Claire Delacroix with featured speakers Lisa Jackson & Christine Warren. Special guests will include Cherry Adair, Stella Cameron, Bob Dugoni, Yasmine Galenorn, Susan Mallery, Katie MacAllister, Bob Mayer, Jane Porter and more.

Attending editors and agents include Megan McKeever (Pocket Books), Wanda Ottewell (Harlequin), Peter Senftleben (Kensington), Steven Axelrod (The Axelrod Agency), Alexandra Machinist (The Linda Chester Literary Agency) and Elaine Spencer (The Knight Agency). Early bird registrants have the chance to win a private bonus pitch with HQN Senior Editor Tara Parsons. Early bird registration closes August 16th.

Registration is limited. To register, click here!

•   Editor & Agent Appointments

•   Educational & Inspirational Sessions

•   Bookfair

•   Chat Sessions with Your Favorite Authors

•   Social Events for Networking

DC Trip, Day Eight: Awards night and home sweet home

Friday, July 18th:

I didn't have time to blog last night, since the Rita and Golden Heart awards ceremony and dessert reception ran late. But the Rita and Golden Heart ceremony was exciting as usual. Always fun to see everyone dressed in their best and celebrating the accomplishments and wins of our fellow authors. It's always a bit bitter sweet to see the awards ceremony end. As we left the dessert reception, we kept stealing glances over our shoulders back at the crowd, as if trying to take in one last bit of "conference" before saying goodbye for another year. 

Rita and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony on last night of conference: 

Fellow chapter mates at awards ceremony reception on last night of conference (Carolynn Estes, me, Kelli Estes, Shelli Stevens, Gayle Williams, Elizabeth Darvell:

===============================================

Saturday, July 19th:

Arlington Cemetery as seen from the plane after take-off: 

The Pentagon as seen from the plane after take-off:

Mt. Rainier from the plane - the first sign of home sweet home (and NO humidity!): 

DC Trip, Day Seven: Every conference needs a fire drill

Friday morning came early once again. Like all the other mornings of this week. Conference week is the only "vacation" I've ever had where I still get up at 5:30 - 6:30am each morning. But there's a lot to pack in each day. We bustled our way through another couple of free book signings today then met up for the last luncheon and speaker of the conference. 

Author Eloisa James as Friday's speaker: 

Not only do they serve "this" for one of the lunches...

They also serve me a glass of water with a huge shard of glass missing out of the side:

After lunch, I attended a workshop held by a couple of great agents talking about the professionalism of an author. Two thirds of the way through, the hotel's fire alarm went off and the entire hotel had to evacuate. This was a bit unnerving considering a Marriott in Jakarta had just been bombed by a terrorist the day before. So, we just continued the workshop outside. 

Agents Laura Bradford and Jennifer Schober continuing their workshop out on the loading dock after the fire alarm went off:

I had both my agent and editor pitch appointments this afternoon and they couldn't have gone better. Okay, well, I guess they could have if both had offered me a contract on the spot. LOL! But, I was excited that the editor requested the partial of my current manuscript and the agent requested not only a partial of my current, but also a partial of my last manuscript! I'll definitely be very busy getting everything polished once I return home. But it's work I'm really looking forward to. :-) 

Waiting in one of the long lines for one of the publishers' free book signings with author Eileen Rendahl:

Tonight I boxed up all of the books I'd collected from the free signings thus far - 5 large Fed-X boxes full. I also packed all I could, so I wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow. I can't believe there's only one day left of conference. I can't believe I've been here for nearly a week! I've done so much, seen so much, and believe it or not, am STILL sporting my sunburn. Oh, and of course, starting to peel a bit. Ugh.