Crystal Jordan :: Blog

Gemma Halliday, an awesome writer who I can tell you from experience does not snore in bed, and a posse of her friends started up a website for mystery romance/chick lit writers. They rock, they’re funny, and they write killer fiction.

Plus, the website is pink with guns and handcuffs. I don’t usually like pink, but helllloooo handcuffs. Come to mama.

Here’s the website: http://www.killerfiction.net

And blog: http://killerfictionwriters.blogspot.com

Check them out!

So, I read on Suzanne Brockmann’s website that she bought a seat at a charity dinner with Joss Whedon. I think anyone who’d read my blog knows I loved the show Firefly, which he created. And the spin-off movie Serenity. Though he killed my favorite character, damn him to hell. He also created Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, which I never watched but Mad Madam M loves as much as I love Firefly.

I was thinking as I read her account of her dinner and going all fan-girl on Joss, that if I had been at that dinner I would have died on the spot. I mean, Joss AND Suz? Died. Right there. That would be the COOLEST thing to be at dinner with both of them…I wouldn’t know who to squee over the most. Or first. Or whatever.

Also, don’t forget Suzanne’s newest Troubleshooters novel is about to come out. Man, I love her Navy SEALs books. *happy sigh*

Just a few things for today…some of which you may already know.

1. I sold IN ICE, a story I formerly had with Cobblestone Press, to Kensington Aphrodisia. It will be in one of their anthologies, but I’m not sure which one yet or with which other authors.

2. I signed on with Lucienne Diver of the Spectrum Literary Agency, who’s being very patient with my newbie-ness. Thanks, Lucienne.

3. Starting tomorrow over in the Romance Divas forum, we’ll be kicking off a 3-day Q&A with some awesome Urban Fantasy writers, including Rachel Caine, Shanna Swendson, Karen Chance, Gena Showalter, and Kelley Armstrong. Come check it out!

Sooo…I had the Day From Hell yesterday and totally spaced on Hump Day Hotties, but it will return next week. Never fear. The hotness is coming.

Let’s do a conference wrap-up today and talk about the highlights of my trip.

First, I spanked Gena Showalter. Yes, I spanked her. And she not only loved it, she begged me to blog about it. This all started when she gave me a nipple mint at lunch last October. One of my fellow authors at Romance Divas was severely jealous that they didn’t get to have lunch with Gena and the magnificent Jill Monroe, so Gena made it up to them by fondling one the free mints given out by the restaurant and rubbing it on her nipple. The right one, if I recall correctly. I’m not sure, I wasn’t looking that closely, but there was definite nipple rub-age.

Anyway, when confronted about her nefarious molestation of mints, she begged to be spanked and punished for her wicked ways. Being the generous person that I am, and seeing her true distress over her bad girl-ness, I obliged.

I tackled Jill Monroe the moment she topped the escalator to the bar. Poor girl, she’s kinda on the smaller side, so she could have been squished like a bug. And that would have been sad–I mean, she’s nice enough to put up with Gena breaking their prized gnome and everything. But, she was as stoked as I was when I announced that I SOLD A NOVELLA TO KENSINGTON APHRODISIA!! (Which means I’m looking for an agent. So all of you crazy agents who always stop by my blog–you know who you are–EMAIL ME!)

R.G. Alexander, critique partner extraordinaire, brought me yellow roses and Milano cookies for selling. How much does she rock? I mean, she brought me chocolate. I *heart* R.G. Plus, she just got her new cover for her first release with Ellora’s Cave. Sexy!

At the Diva Dinner, where I hung out with almost fifty Romance Diva peeps, I met the beautiful Anna J. Evans, and then I got the Most Determined To Make An Acceptance Speech award. I’m not sure if that’s meant to be funny or insulting. I’ll go with funny. Best not to think about it too much.

I had a small chat with Nora Roberts about her awesome-yet-uncomfy-looking shoes at the Berkley Publisher Party. And she touched Lillian Feisty’s shoulder and told her she had on a gorgeous dress. Feisty’s never washing that shoulder again, nor getting rid of the fire engine red Marilyn Monroe number either.

On Saturday I served as Eden Bradley’s personal assistant during her book signing and had to regulate on a few people for wanting to steal the book and not get it signed. Dude, five minutes in line for an awesome FREE book and a chat with La Eden is not too much to ask. I promise.

Oh! One last thing. The day I got the call from Kensington, Jax Crane, Lillian Feisty, and Eden Bradley pitched in and insisted on buying me my first tattoo. A teensy lady bug on the inside on my foot. At the same time, the ever sassy Mel got her nose pierced, so we got to be slightly hurting wenches together.

I’m sure there’s more, but I forget. Talk to you later!

I stole this from the uber talented alien-writer-chick, Gena Showalter, who stole it from Michelle Rowen, who stole it from Bonnie. It’s been passed around like a cheap hooker, poor thing. You answer all the questions using only one word.

1. WHERE IS YOUR CELL PHONE?: purse
2. RELATIONSHIP?: nope
3. YOUR HAIR?: showered
4. WORK?: weekend
5. YOUR SISTER?: non-existent
6. YOUR FAVORITE THING?: finishing
7. YOUR DREAM LAST NIGHT?: non-existent
8. YOUR FAVORITE DRINK?: water
9. YOUR DREAM CAR?: Volvo
10. THE ROOM YOU’RE IN?: office
11. YOUR SHOES?: scattered
12. YOUR FEARS?: snakes!
13. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE IN 10 YEARS?: bestseller
14. WHO DID YOU HANG OUT WITH THIS WEEKEND?: Persnickety
15. WHAT ARE YOU NOT GOOD AT?: lying
16. MUFFIN?: blueberry
17. ONE OF YOUR WISH LIST ITEMS?: Orlando
18. WHERE YOU GREW UP? California
19. LAST THING YOU DID?: type
20. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?: pajamas!
21. WHAT AREN’T YOU WEARING?: socks
22. YOUR PET?: gone
23. YOUR COMPUTER?: MacBook
24. YOUR LIFE?: crazy
25. YOUR MOOD?: bored
26. MISSING?: breakfast
27. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW?: book
28. YOUR CAR?: parked
29. YOUR KITCHEN?: messy
30. YOUR SUMMER?: packed
31. YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?: green
32. LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED?: yesterday
33. LAST TIME YOU CRIED?: *sniffle*
34. SCHOOL?: aced
35. LOVE?: yay!

Hey all!

One of my fave authors, Gemma Halliday, posted about how her awesome book Spying in High Heels might become a television show…but she needs some support! Read below for details. I emailed already, and I hope you will, too. Trust me when I tell you this story SO needs to be on the air. It rocks!

SPYING IN HIGH HEELS is in development for a television series on the USA Network!!!!! Ahhh!!!!!
It’s currently one of five new shows being developed for their fall 2007/2008 season.
Here’s a blurb on the show:

A new cast of characters are being welcomed to USA Network’s ambitious development slate for the 2007/2008 season. Bolstering the “Characters Welcome” brand, a slate of five new pilot scripts was announced by Jeff Wachtel, USA’s executive vice president, original programming.

One of the projects includes a show entitled Spying in High Heels, based on the characters from Gemma Halliday’s 2006 release of the same name.

The show concept follows shoe designer Maddie Springer, who in an effort to track down her missing boyfriend, realizes that her knack for fashion also serves another purpose: It makes her a great detective. Maddie’s uniquely female perspective helps her pick up clues, using her designer’s eye to discern tell tale shapes, colors and patterns, among other things. Along with her best friend Dana, an out-of-work actress, Maddie decides to open a detective agency operating out of her stepfather’s hair salon. Producer is Larry Shuman and Executive Producer/Writer is Sara Endsley.

So - not ALL shows that go into development will make it on the air. At this stage, the network is putting out feelers to see which of their shows in development are creating the biggest buzz. If you want to see Maddie and Ramirez on the small screen, there are a couple of things that you can do to help “buzz” the show.

1. Blog about it! Send a bulletin to your MySpace friends! Spread the word!

2. Write to the USA Network and tell them you heard about SPYING IN HIGH HEELS and can’t wait to watch it. Or, if you’ve read the book and liked it, tell them that, too! (If you read the book and didn’t like it, please don’t tell anyone.)
Here’s where you can contact the programming department at the USA Network:

feedback@usanetwork.com

I thought I’d stop from my usual ramble (or maybe just ramble in a slightly different direction) and talk about what I’m reading now.

For whatever reason, I’m on a suspense kick with the reading. And these babies have
been in my To Be Read pile for, like, ever.

Linda Howard’s Drop Dead Gorgeous

This is the sequel to To Die For, which is Linda’s first attempt at chick-litty romantic suspense. One of my fellow librarians suggested this one, so I’m off to read it this weekend.

Meanwhile, I’m half-way through this romantic suspense by Suzanne Brockmann. It book one million in her Navy SEALs Troubleshooters series. I freaking love these books. And Loribelle Hunt will kill me when she reads this and sees that i haven’t finished it yet when it came out in, like, August. I’m so gonna get a call off of this. It’s on the what I’m reading now list though, so without further ado…

Suzanne Brockmann’s Into the Storm

Okay, I promised Ms. Eden I’d do this bad boy for her after she tagged me. So here’s four things you may or may not know about me (or even want to know about me).

Four Jobs I’ve Had:
1. Community Service Events Coordinator
2. Administrative Assistant
3. Museum
4. Librarian

Four Places I’ve Lived:
1. California Bay Area
2. Sacramento, California
3. Indiana
4. Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee/Kentucky

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Is it edible? That’s the one! (I didn’t get these hips by accident, you know!)
2. Chinese food (Eat it and you’re ready for more 30 minutes later. see abouve statement)
3. Chocolate (It has it’s own food group)
4. Chai Tea (cold or hot, I’m not picky–as per food choice #1)

Movies I Could Watch Over and Over
1. Practical Magic
2. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (extended edition, naturally)
3. Pride & Prejudice
4. Underworld (hot vampire on werewolf action–woot!)

Four TV Shows I Watch:
1. The OC (Mad Madam M makes me!)
2. Gilmore Girls (even erotic romance writers need wholesome family fun)
3. Heroes (cute boys, superpowers, what more could a girl ask for?)
4. America’s Next Top Model (a guilty pleasure I’ve had since their first season)

Four Places I’ve Visited:
1. Canada (border hopped for lunch once with Mad Madam M)
2. Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithful is really not that cool when you’re a teen. And word to the wise–buffalos in the wild smell like death)
3. Puerto Vallarta
4. Atlanta (okay, it’s not that cool, but I met all my friends at RWA last year! See you in Dallas, ladies!)

Four Places I’d Like To Visit:
1. The Cannes Film Festival (with M, of course)
2. London
3. Australia/ New Zealand (why not make it a 2-for-1 trip? They’re neighbors!)
4. Tahiti

Four Websites I Go To (almost) Daily:
1. Romance Divas
2. Passionate Ink Forum
3. Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe’s blog (ditto on the 2-for-1 neighbor thingie)
4. Google (I’m always having to search for stuff, so I might as well be honest –Librarians use Goggle too!)

Four People I’m Tagging To Do This:
1. Jen McKenzie
2. Shelli Stevens
3. Dayna Hart
4. Jill Monroe

I give you four reasons to love the holidays (and an escape from the insanity of malls, family, and eating until you die from it). I critiqued the books by my girls Emma, Jen, and Eden, so when I tell you they rocked me like a hurricane, I’m not talking out my buttocks. I really mean they were awesome possum. Then there’s Karen’s loverly book. I haven’t read it yet, but I was talking to Deanna over at Cobblestone Press and she teased me mercilessly with details and I want to read it really, really bad. So, I’m recommending it to you because, well, you should all want to read what I want to read. Duh.

The Taste of Christmas by Jennifer McKenzie

The holidays are difficult when you have a crazy family. Tabitha Durst would agree with that sentiment whole-heartedly. What do you do when a gorgeous guy witnesses just how crazy they are?

Go buy a present for yourself. You totally deserve it. Buy, buy, buy!

Fairies and Wishes by Karen Erickson

Lily the Christmas fairy must teach a lonely doctor how to love again, so she makes him fall in love with her. Big mistake since she always leaves earth the day after Christmas. But how can she leave the sweet, sexy doctor when she’s fallen in love with him, too?

You know you want some. Go buy!

Seducing St. Nic by Emma Petersen

Christmas is Barbara Jean Ruiz’s favorite time of year and she’s not going to let anyone ruin it for her. Not even her evil undead, but still super sexy, employer Cypriano San Nicolo. Can she show St. Nic how wondrous the holidays can be and just maybe something a little more?

Get your Christmas cheer on. Buy it!

A chance storm on December 21st, the Winter Solstice, drives psychologist Destiny Walker to a spontaneous consultation with a fortune-teller. When the psychic tells her she’s about to meet her soul mate, Destiny is dubious.

But when she runs into Superman look-alike Reece Kellan–literally–her rational world is turned upside down. Reece is funny, kind, and the sexiest man she’s ever seen. And when their bodies meet, the electricity they create could rival the storm raging outside. But there’s something more there, something mysterious, alluring and a little frightening. Is it possible the psychic was right, after all?

Buy here!

So there are four new books coming out in the next year that I am so stoked to get my hands on. The bonus: they all have awesome, unbelievable covers. So, check out my picks on the lucky bitches who got smacked by the Good Cover Fairy (TM).

First, we feed my craving for the rest of the HeartMate series by Robin D. Owens. I love these books. Every last one of them. And do you see how nice they were to me by giving a full flegded (yet not creepy) helping of man-titty? Yum.

Okay, when I had lunch with Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe, Gena teased me by saying she should maybe have brought the cover flat for me to see. So, now it months later and I finally get to see how spiffy this bad boy is. I mean flames, nekked man, cool butterfly tattoo. It’s almost like they want to tempt me with it. Crazy, I know. Still the man dies every night. That’s dark. That’s angst. And it’s Gena, so ya know that’s good sex. I want to read it. Now.

Third up is MaryJanice Davidson’s new series. Her original title was Bitch Out of Water, and I can see why they didn’t let her keep it, but I think it’s funny as hell. This is my least fave of the four covers here (Sorry MJ) but I sooooooo want to read it. If you haven’t yet, go read the excerpt. I totally fell in love with her Undead series, and her Alaska series, so one more to buy makes me all happy inside.

Last, but so not least, is Jill Monroe’s new book. The only thing I’d like better is if I could see the front of him in this game of strip poker they’re teasing me with. I’m like TURN AROUND! Can’t wait to read the book. There are very few people that I own all their books, and Jill is one of them. True, I haven’t READ all of them yet, but I own them and that has to count for something. They’re in the Mutant To-Be-Read Pile (TM).