XTINA SHRIEKS WITH JOYMind you, I’m not a crossword puzzle fanatic. In fact, I’m really bad at them. But my mom was an aficionado, and so is my husband, so when I got this email tonight, I was absolutely ecstatic. "Hey, Christina. Has anyone let you know yet that you made the LA Times online crossword puzzle? Go to: http://games.latimes.com (you may have to register, but it doesn't cost anything). Click on the Daily crossword. You need the puzzle for Friday, 11/18/05. If you're too late and it gives you a later puzzle, look right above the puzzle box for the for the "previous date" / "today's crossword" links. You, m'dear are # 13 Down: Romance Novelist named Christina The answer, of course, is DODD!" I guess that means you have really arrived. Never mind all those best seller lists. You're in the LA Times Crossword! My thanks to Janis Reams Hudson for letting me know. I feel like a star! Posted: 04/14/2008
Christina Falls for Lover EternalSome readers say the vampire fantasy doesn’t work for them. They say stuff like — a vampire is a demon. He doesn’t adhere to the rules of civilization. He chases his mate relentlessly and forces pleasure on her time and again. Worst of all, he’s dead. I say — picky, picky. What other kind of man is going to stay stiff for hours and hours on end? Last fall, I heard the on-line buzz about book one of The Black Dagger Brotherhood, DARK LOVER by J. R. Ward, and raced around town looking for the book. You know — small town, not many bookstores … I found and consumed book one and fell in love. DARK LOVER is set in the modern world in a town called Caldwell, NY, and contains complex characters — a warrior-hero who is dreadfully damaged and truly reprehensible, a heroine moving from one reality to another and infuriated by her change, and a whole group of tormented vampire warriors, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, intend on saving their race from a creepy gang of soulless things called the Lessening Society. When I closed the book, I remembered each scene so vividly I felt as if I’d lived it, and I stood in awe of the author who created such a complex world peopled with so many characters and dominated by a deepening sense of dread. The second book, LOVER ETERNAL, wasn’t scheduled for publication this month, March 2006. How could I stand to wait? I looked at DARK LOVER and realized my editor was in the acknowledgements. In fact, my editor was J. R. Ward’s editor! Muahahahahaha! I called our editor and subtly suggested I would like an advanced reading copy ("Please send me a copy. Please, please, I can’t stand to wait, it’s such a good book, wow, you’re a genius, J. R. Ward is a genius, please …) After a sufficient amount of whining and sucking up, I scored my copy. You probably know there’s an unspoken rule in publishing that says the second book in a series can’t be as good as the first. J. R. Ward proves that’s a myth. In LOVER ETERNAL, she introduces us to heroine Mary Luce. Right away I realized Mary is more alone than any one person should ever be. She had suffered through the long, arduous death of her mother. She’d dealt with a life-threatening illness of her own on her own. She had lost her faith in God and lived on the ragged edge of desperation. And when the story opens, her doctor had called her in for a follow-up — and Mary knows what that means. Her disease has returned. Mary scared me because she could be me. Then J. R. Ward mated Mary with a kind gentleman … heh, heh. Of course, I’m pulling your leg. J. R. mates Mary with Rhage, the bad boy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. When they meet, Rhage is instantaneously captivated by Mary’s voice and her body. He wants her because she satisfies the savage beast within him. The thing is — he really, really has a savage beast within him. He’s been cursed; whenever he loses his temper, the beast within him comes out. I mean — it comes OUT. He’s transformed into a monster, ripping, tearing, eating his enemies and, if they’re not careful, his friends. The transformation leaves him with an awful hangover and the fear that if he allows himself to get passionate and wild with Mary, he’ll destroy her — and himself. How these two tormented souls manage to fight and, well, mostly fight their way to a happy ending kept me riveted. Yet LOVER ETERNAL is so much more than a love story. The romance between Rhage and Mary dominated the action, yet at the same time J. R. built the characters of the other brothers, set the stage for the next book, and thoroughly frightened me with the overarching and eternal struggle between The Black Dagger Brotherhood and the Lessening Society. I’m a squeamish reader, and the Lessening Society’s use of torture and violence made me want to hide my eyes. But I couldn’t stop reading, and I can’t wait for Book Three, LOVE AWAKENED. I am in awe by the way J. R. Ward keeps so many balls in the air, the way she creates a paranormal world set within the real world — a world of horrible vendetta set on contemporary city streets, of vampire-warriors doomed by their determination to fight for the future of their people, and of eternal love between a woman cursed by disease and a man cursed by his own sins. Have you read DARK LOVER and LOVER ETERNAL? What do you think sets The Black Dagger Brotherhood apart from so many other paranormals flooding the market? Is it fair to call J. R. Ward a less erotic, more multifaceted Laurell K. Hamilton? Posted: 04/21/2008
Massage ChairXtina says IT’S NOT AS GOOD AS SEX, BUT PRETTY DARNED CLOSE Back in February, when I returned from The Barefoot Booktour, I came home to an exasperated husband. He’d ordered my Valentine’s Day present, they’d lied about how long it would take to be delivered, so all he had for me was a card. Actually, two cards. One from him. One from the dogs. But he kept saying things like, "I was going to have everything re-arranged when you got here," and "I don’t know how many delivery guys they’re sending," and most important, "I don’t know when it’s going to get here because I can’t track it." Huh? It sounded like furniture, but I kept looking around the house thinking, "A dining room table? No, he wouldn’t dare." "A new desk? No, he wouldn’t dare." I had no idea what it could be. Now, Scott is like most guys. He seems insulted by the idea that he should kept track of the things I want so he can buy them for me on those weird celebrations like, oh, say, my birthday. In fact, despite the six million commercials and billboards and personal reminders, Christmas always seems to catch him by surprise. ("I didn’t have time to shop! I’ve been busy!") Yeah, yeah. But sporadically he does something wonderful. On one of our anniversaries — not a milestone anniversary, just an anniversary — he gave me a series of packages. A plant. A pair of green pajamas. A green sweater. (Do you sense a theme?) The last two gifts were a pair of emerald earrings and a gorgeous emerald ring. And years ago, he drove my mother and my sister to the mall, found a sweater wrap he liked, and bought it. This story is only notable for my sister’s comment — "What is this? Christina’s Thursday gift?" The occasion I remember most fondly was a time we were moving. The kids were little. Scott and I had been up all night packing. First thing in the morning he went out for more tape (or something) and came back with doughnuts. I almost cried with joy. Yep, folks, the way to Christina’s heart is sugar and fat fried dough glazed with more sugar and fat. Back to my Valentine’s Day present — Scott finally gets the call that it’s coming between 8am and noon. He tells me I have to get up before the delivery people arrive. So it’s something in the bedroom??? They drive up. I steadfastly don’t look. But I know it’s so wide they’re having trouble getting it through the front door. I’m berserk with curiosity. They leave, and I finally get to look. Well ... have you seen those massage chairs? The really really good ones in Brookstone? The ones that massage your neck and shoulders when you’ve been typing so long all your muscles are in knots? OH MY GOD!!! Just ... OH MY GOD!!! Here's the description: The Lifestyle™ Chair features eight primary massage modes including: Swedish, Kneading, Hawaiian, Percussion, Compression, Tapping, Shiatsu and Rolling. For your convenience it has four pre-programmed modes: Shiatsu, Swedish, Stretch and 5-minute Quick Massage, as well as Full, Upper and Lower Back programs. Full-body stretching releases tension in back and hips. Calf massage soothes and reinvigorates tired calves and legs. OH MY GOD!!! Have you ever, um … wow. The Shiatsu. Nice. Very, very nice. … Have you had any really wonderful … stretch those legs, baby! Stretch them! … Have you had any simply wonderful, spot-on gifts … whoa. When I push that button, the rollers up and down and back and forth … Have you had any simply wonderful, spot-on gifts you remember forever from your husband, a parent, a kid? Why don’t you … oh, yes. Right there. A little to the left. Yes, yes, YES!!! … Why don’t you tell us all about it? OH MY GOD!!! Posted: 04/28/2008 Back to Previous Page | Back to Blog Home |
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