My Favorite Things: DAY SIX

T-minus two days until the Serengeti Sunrise release and I have to say I'm getting my usual case of pre-release jitters. Thank goodness for the soothing bliss of Mythbusters Jigsaw Puzzles or I'd be a nervous wreck.

But you're all probably wondering who yesterday's lucky winner was. So without further ado, the day five winner is... Ivelisse!

Congratulations! Please email vivi@viviandrews.com and let me know which of the remaining prize packs (listed at the bottom of today's post) you'd like to take home.

And now, on to our next chance to win!
DAY SIX QUESTION: Yesterday we talked about heroic appearances (and dude, I loved reading all of your comments - so cool to see all the different takes on what makes a hero attractive!) and it got me thinking about what a man does. Tyler, the hero of Serengeti Sunrise, is a mechanic. Gotta love a man who knows his way around an engine block - but from cowboys to firefighters, Fortune 500 CEOs to professional athletes, knights to special forces, there are a lot of studly professions out there and our favorite romance heroes know how to make them look good. So here's today's question: What is your favorite (or the most memorable) heroic occupation?

As always, may the odds be ever in your favor!

***PRIZE UPDATE: The following prize packs are still available!***

• Contemporary Romance Pack: Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl, Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James, & First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• Paranormal Rom-Com Pack: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (hardback) & A Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy
• Uber-Sexy Paranormal Pack: Demon's Fire by Emma Holly, Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur, & Master of the Night by Angela Knight
  
• Future/Space Sexiness Pack: Take Me and Need Me by Shelli Stevens & Beyond the Shadows by Jess Granger
  
• Historical Awesomeness Pack: Two Eloisa James Desperate Duchess Books, Sins of a Duke and Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch
  
• Romantic Suspense Pack: A trio of books by Roxanne St. Claire, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood
  
• Contemporary Drama Pack: Red Hat Club Rides Again by Haywood Smith, Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky, and Suddenly One Summer by Barbara Freethy.
  
• Karmic Consultants Pack: Signed print copies of The Ghost Exterminator & The Sexorcist and a digital ARC of the not yet released short story A Cop & A Feel
  
• Shifter Digi-Pack: Digital copies (in format of winner's choice) of Serengeti Heat, Serengeti Storm, Serengeti Lightning and the SOON-TO-BE-RELEASED Serengeti Sunrise.

My Favorite Things: DAY FIVE

Let's skip the introductions and get right down to business, shall we? No foreplay today. The winner IS: Maria!

Woot! Congrats! Please email vivi@viviandrews.com and let me know which of the still-available packs at the bottom of today's post you'd like to claim.

And now, with yet another chance to win, the Saturday question:

DAY FIVE QUESTION: In all our talk of heroes a few days back, their appearances didn't seem to play a large role - but is that just because all romance heroes are such studly specimens? Does a hero's appearance impact your enjoyment of a romance? And if so, do you have a favorite type you look for? I remember a while back hearing something about how books with dark-haired heroes on the front actually statistically sold better than those with blond men. (Just hearsay, I don't have an actual study to refer to.) So is a dark hero really sexier? Or does he only need to be darkly fascinating on the inside? Is this the one case where blonds don't have more fun?

***PRIZE UPDATE: The following prize packs are still available!***

• Contemporary Romance Pack: Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl, Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James, & First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• Paranormal Rom-Com Pack: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (hardback) & A Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy
• Uber-Sexy Paranormal Pack: Demon's Fire by Emma Holly, Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur, & Master of the Night by Angela Knight
  
• Future/Space Sexiness Pack: Take Me & Need Me by Shelli Stevens & Beyond the Shadows by Jess Granger
  
• Historical Awesomeness Pack: Two Eloisa James Desperate Duchess Books, Sins of a Duke and Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch
  
• Romantic Suspense Pack: A trio of books by Roxanne St. Claire, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood
  
• Contemporary Drama Pack: Red Hat Club Rides Again by Haywood Smith, Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky, and Suddenly One Summer by Barbara Freethy.
  
• Karmic Consultants Pack: Signed print copies of The Ghost Exterminator & The Sexorcist and a digital ARC of the not yet released short story A Cop & A Feel
  
• Shifter Digi-Pack: Digital copies (in format of winner's choice) of Serengeti Heat, Serengeti Storm, Serengeti Lightning and the SOON-TO-BE-RELEASED Serengeti Sunrise.

My Favorite Things: DAY FOUR

Happy Chris Hemsworth Day, everyone!


(Or happy Friday to those of you who are not obsessively counting the seconds until you can drool over Thor's droolworthiness.)

First things first. Our next winner! (After a slight delay during which I couldn't get Random.org to work for me - seriously how hard is it to pick a number, random.org?) Today, the lucky winner is Becky!

Congratulations! Email me (vivi@viviandrews.com) and let me know which of the prize packs listed at the bottom of today's post you'd like to claim for your very own.

And now, on to today's giveaway! I'm gonna be honest, it's hard to focus on giving stuff away when all I can think of is the Thor awesomeness that will be coming my way in a few short hours. I'm a movie junkie, a superhero junkie, and DAMN is that man up there hot. Who can resist? But there are a ton of other movies I'm looking forward to this summer. Harry Potter's finale, a new X-Men, the Green Lantern, the Hangover 2, Cars 2... the list goes on. So today's question...

DAY FOUR QUESTION: Which summer movie are you most looking forward to seeing and why? Will you be braving the crazy crowds to see any of them on opening weekend?

And as for this weekend, does anyone else think it was utter foolishness to release Something Borrowed on the same weekend as the biggest chick flick of the year? (One of my male friends didn't think Thor counted as a chick flick. Yeah, cuz all those ab shots are for the manly men in the audience. He probably reads Playboy for the articles too.)

Good luck!

***PRIZE UPDATE: The following prize packs are still available!***

• Contemporary Romance Pack: Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl, Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James, & First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• Paranormal Rom-Com Pack: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (hardback) & A Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy
• Uber-Sexy Paranormal Pack: Demon's Fire by Emma Holly, Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur, & Master of the Night by Angela Knight
  
• Future/Space Sexiness Pack: Take Me & Need Me by Shelli Stevens & Beyond the Shadows by Jess Granger
  
• Historical Awesomeness Pack: Two Eloisa James Desperate Duchess Books, Sins of a Duke and Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch
  
• Romantic Suspense Pack: A trio of books by Roxanne St. Claire, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood
  
• Not My Cuppa The Recently-Renamed Contemporary Drama Pack: Red Hat Club Rides Again by Haywood Smith, Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky, and Suddenly One Summer by Barbara Freethy.
  
• Karmic Consultants Pack: Signed print copies of The Ghost Exterminator & The Sexorcist and a digital ARC of the not yet released short story A Cop & A Feel
  
• Shifter Digi-Pack: Digital copies (in format of winner's choice) of Serengeti Heat, Serengeti Storm, Serengeti Lightning and the SOON-TO-BE-RELEASED Serengeti Sunrise.

My Favorite Things: DAY THREE

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! A day of margaritas for Mexico! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. And now, without further ado, we have another WINNER! Today's lucky winner of her choice of the Favorite Things Prize Packs Is... Maria!

Congratulations! Please email vivi@viviandrews.com and let me know which of the remaining prizes listed at the bottom of this post you'd like to claim for your very own.

And for everyone who didn't win this time, never fear! The giveaway marches on. More books need homes. As always, just comment to be entered to win and be sure to swing back tomorrow to see if you scored one of the prizes.

DAY THREE QUESTION: The boys had their day yesterday, and today is all about the girls. I adore a feisty, no-holds-barred heroine and Zoe, the star of my upcoming release Serengeti Sunrise, is definitely that. In honor of her, today's question is: Who is your favorite kick-ass heroine?

And speaking of Zoe, I recently had a graphic design nerd-gasm creating Romance Trading Cards for Serengeti Sunrise and here's a peek at the one I whipped up for our intrepid heroine.



What do you think? You like?

***PRIZE UPDATE: The following prize packs are still available!***

• Paranormal Rom-Com Pack: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (hardback) & A Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy
• Uber-Sexy Paranormal Pack: Demon's Fire by Emma Holly, Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur, & Master of the Night by Angela Knight
  
• Future/Space Sexiness Pack: Take Me & Need Me by Shelli Stevens & Beyond the Shadows by Jess Granger
  
• Historical Awesomeness Pack: Two Eloisa James Desperate Duchess Books, Sins of a Duke and Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch
  
• Romantic Suspense Pack: A trio of books by Roxanne St. Claire, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood
  
• Not My Cuppa Pack: Red Hat Club Rides Again by Haywood Smith, Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky, and Suddenly One Summer by Barbara Freethy.
  
• Karmic Consultants Pack: Signed print copies of The Ghost Exterminator & The Sexorcist and a digital ARC of the not yet released short story A Cop & A Feel
  
• Shifter Digi-Pack: Digital copies (in format of winner's choice) of Serengeti Heat, Serengeti Storm, Serengeti Lightning and the SOON-TO-BE-RELEASED Serengeti Sunrise.

My Favorite Things: DAY TWO

Welcome to Day Two, y'all! Let the launch party continue! But first things first. Our first WINNER! Drumroll please...

Our inaugural lucky winner of her choice of the Favorite Things Prize Packs Is: Cynthia Justlin!!!

Congratulations! Please email vivi@viviandrews.com with your prize choice to claim your winnings!

And now, there are still many a book pack left to be won, so let's get to the second question. As always, just comment to be entered to win and be sure to swing back tomorrow to see if you scored one of the prizes.

DAY TWO QUERY: Thinking of all the excellent books by all the excellent authors mentioned yesterday, I found myself dwelling on the memorable heroes they've created. So my question to you - Who is your favorite hero (or most memorable if they aren't one and the same) and what is it that is so special about him?

I can't seem to make up my mind between Colin in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Phin from Welcome to Temptation, and Hawke from Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling Series even though I haven't even read his book yet. Oooh, and Lazarus Long from Time Enough for Love.

Good luck, reader-friends!

***PRIZE UPDATE: The Contemporary Pack is officially off the market, but all others are still up for grabs! Good luck!***

My Favorite Things/Serengeti Sunrise Launch Party!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to DAY ONE of the My Favorite Things Giveaway/Serengeti Sunrise Launch Party! (Can I get a woohoo?) You can win one of the following excellent book packs just by commenting. Answer the question at the bottom of the post and check back tomorrow to see if you've won and play for the remaining prize packs.

What's up for grabs, you ask?

• Contemporary Romance Pack: Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl, Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James, & First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• Paranormal Rom-Com Pack: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones & A Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy
• Uber-Sexy Paranormal Pack: Demon's Fire by Emma Holly, Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur, & Master of the Night by Angela Knight
  
• Future/Space Sexiness Pack: Take Me & Need Me by Shelli Stevens & Beyond the Shadows by Jess Granger
  
• Historical Awesomeness Pack: Two Eloisa James Desperate Duchess Books, Sins of a Duke and Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch
  
• Romantic Suspense Pack: A trio of books by Roxanne St. Claire, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood
  
• Not My Cuppa Pack: Red Hat Club Rides Again by Haywood Smith, Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky, and Suddenly One Summer by Barbara Freethy. (Confession: I haven't read these, so I'm not personally vouching for the awesome, though they are all bestsellers. I'm just trying to make space on my overburdened bookshelves and these three seemed to go together nicely.)
  
• Karmic Consultants Pack: Signed print copies of The Ghost Exterminator & The Sexorcist and a digital ARC of the not yet released short story A Cop & A Feel
  
• Shifter Digi-Pack: Digital copies (in format of winner's choice) of Serengeti Heat, Serengeti Storm, Serengeti Lightning and the SOON-TO-BE-RELEASED Serengeti Sunrise.

(The Fine Print: Must be a US/Canadian resident for the print packages. Void where prohibited.)

DAY ONE QUESTION: Which author's books would make your list of favorite things? If you had to pick just three to take with you to a desert island (and no taking Kindles, people, there are no chargers!) then which books would you take? (I know it's an impossible question. Luckily, you are unlikely to be forced to stand by this decision. It's like the bibliophile's version of that list of celebrities you get to sleep with and it doesn't count as cheating... or something like that. I promise not to tell Julia Quinn that you were curled up in the dark with Nalini Singh last night.)

What He Said

Dude. Y'all. I had to share this video on the whole Judy Mays fiasco I mentioned last week because:

1) I am deeply impressed by anyone who can talk that fast AND be intelligent while doing so.
2) It's one of those things that needs to be said and saying it more than once? Not a bad thing.



I'm now picturing the Saw screenwriter doing research. Heh.

Oh, and I know on Friday I promised news on giveaway goodness today... so here's the word: Starting SOON (delay of game due to Act of God weather conditions in Alabama) Moira Rogers (the most excellent Bree & Donna) and Vivian Arend are doing a big ole fabulous giveaway over at their respective blogs. More details will be available shortly. Aaaaaaand, following the Favorite Things Giveaway which starts TOMORROW (wootwoot) there will be a my Favorite People Guestblog run RIGHT HERE with additional daily prizes. Get psyched, reader minions. Get psyched.

The Brenda Novak Auction - Now Live!

Ladies and gentlemen, it is that time of year again! The Brenda Novak Annual Auction to Cure Diabetes is NOW OPEN FOR BIDDING!!!



There are, as ever, some AMAZING items to bid on. Once in a lifetime experiences. Vacation packages. Or, if you aren't feeling like breaking the bank, there are beaucoup books (including some ARCs from favorite authors that you can read before the book releases!) and smaller items you can bid on to do your bit for charity. CLICK HERE TO BROWSE THE AUCTION.

And as always, I've put together a lil sumin' sumin' for the auction. This year, I went Karmic. I went Psychic... and I filled that basket until it ran-eth over. Are you tempted?

Karmic Consultants Psychic Gift Basket featuring the Karmic Consultants books & a variety of Occult Entertainments.

-Signed copies of The Ghost Exterminator, The Sexorcist & the Tickle My Fantasy anthology which includes the Karmic Consultants novella The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo & the Poltergeist Accountant.
-CD featuring pdf copies of The Naked Detective & an ARC of the upcoming release A Cop & A Feel
-Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters 2 Deluxe Edition DVD pack
-Easy Tarot beginner's manual and complete tarot deck
-Mini Love Voodoo kit.
-Instant Palmistry book.
-Glow in the dark Ouija board.

-Live Laugh Love picture frame
-Heart-shaped moodstone pendant.
-Magic Eight Ball
...and miscellaneous Karmic-y doodads (notebook, totebag, magnetic bookmarks, etc...)

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THE KARMIC CONSULTANTS BASKET.

Also, don't miss out on the Carina Press NOOK, Carina Press Kindle, Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Kindle AND, for the writerly inclined out there, the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood is also auctioning off a mentorship.

Go! Bid! Win! Good luck, y'all!