A Quick Plug

I'm not very good at challenges. The quickest way for me to DON'T WANNA all over a book is for someone to tell me that I *must* read it. Even if *I* am the someone.

Yeah, welcome to my inner child. She's kind of a brat.

So anyway, I had pretty much decided not to sign up for challenges this year. I signed up for several last year and promptly ignored all of them, all year long. That takes a certain dedication.

But Jackie is wily. She is offering PRIZES. And it's a short term contest, not a year long one, which suits my attention span. AND it features a crew of some of the most entertaining writers around, The League of Reluctant Adults. If you're not following that blog, you ought to be.

So go to Literary Escapism to get the contest details. Of the 20 authors there, I've read two of them and I've been following Carolyn Crane (a/k/a CJ)'s blog for well over a year. I enjoy her blog writing so much, I can't wait for her actual book (due out in March, it sadly doesn't qualify for the contest).

Mark Henry and Kat Richardson are both local to me and I've had the pleasure of meeting them both at signings. Although I gave Henry's first book a mixed review, I will say that he is hugely funny in person and if you've missed his vlogs, they are worth the click (uh, only if your kids and boss aren't around. And if you're not eating anything.) I also spotted him in the back row with some other troublemakers at a Patty Briggs signing. I totally believe the tagline on the League blog that says:

We're a bunch of paranormal romance and urban fantasy authors who occasionally blog, make filthy jokes and prowl the halls of conferences and conventions with switchblades!

... particularly if by "switchblades" they mean "strong alcoholic beverages and possibly a video camera."

I've also read the first two Graywalker books by Kat Richardson but hadn't got around to doing any reviews. This will give me some incentive to get the 3rd one under my belt and get that review up! Besides being really engrossing ghost stories, they're set in the older part of Seattle near where I work. It was just layers of awesome to go to a signing right in Graywalker's main character Harper's neighborhood:


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Now I just need to figure out which of the other authors I want to try. If you're having trouble too, I recommend browsing through Jackie's archives. Glancing through that list, I'm pretty sure she has reviewed or discussed a lot of them over the last two years!