Librarians give "Ten Things I Hate About the Duke" their Seal of Approval

You have not heard much from me lately, but please brace yourself, because the posts will be coming somewhat thicker and faster than usual as we count down to the 1 December release of Ten Things I Hate About the Duke.

Some months ago, Advance Reading Copies (mistakes and all) went out to reviewers, bloggers, and others. Today I received notice of a special honor, from librarians.

Ten Things I Hate About The Duke has been voted a LibraryReads pick for December 2020! Out of all the books coming out in December, it made the top ten. This is quite an honor, from the people who have done so much for me, my whole life.

You can look over the complete list here at Library Reads.

And on this Library Love Fest Podcast, I and other HarperCollins authors who made the shortlist offer our thanks.

This was an unexpected honor, and very happy news, as Ashmont and Cassandra’s story prepares to meet the public. May I just say how much I love librarians? In case that didn’t quite come across in the podcast.

All About Dukes

At long last, the manuscript for A Duke in Shining Armor is in the hands of the copy editor. It will wend its way back to me before too long, for a double check of technical matters, like inconsistencies; punctuation disputes; correct naming of people, places, and things; and goofy spellings.

I kind of like that phase of production because it allows me to let loose the insane grammarian in me. I kind of hate that phase of production because I change my mind about usages and nerdy points of grammar and such—though I will never give up my Oxford comma, which I grew up calling a serial comma, as in serial killer. Made it easy to remember.

The book is scheduled for release on 29 November. Descriptions are up at the various booksellers, e.g.—HarperCollins
Amazon,

Barnes & Noble,

iBooks

—and will appear here on the website after I get home from my travels and wade through the chaos.

A Duke in Shining Armor is the first of a three-book series dealing with a trio of disreputable dukes. You’ll meet the other two dukes in this book, and get a clue about their stories (and some others in the story arc) as well.

In other news:

While visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (that's where the flowers came from) a short time ago, I received word that my 2016 historical romance, Dukes Prefer Blondes, is a Romance Writers of America®  RITA® Finalist in the Long Historical category. The Rita is the RWA version of an Oscar, and being a finalist is like being an Oscar nominee. In other words, it’s a very big deal, and I feel deeply honored. You can find the other finalists here.

Winners will be announced at the Annual Conference in July.

 

 

All About Romance Annual Reader Poll

I’ve just received word that Dukes Prefer Blondes has been nominated in the Favorite Funny Romance and Best Romance Heroine categories in all About Romance’s 2016 Annual Reader Poll. They had so many entries, they had to have a runoff.

This is a good chance, not only to vote for your favorites, but to discover books you might have missed. 

Categories:
Best Romance, Favorite Funny Romance, Favorite Tear-Jerker Romance, Most Luscious Love Story, Best Erotica/Romantica Romance, Most Tortured Romance Hero, Best Kick-Ass Heroine, Best Romance Hero, Best Romance Heroine, Best Romance Couple, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Fantasy Romance, Best Science Fiction Romance, Best Historical Romance set in the U.K., Best Historical Romance set outside the U.K., Best contemporary Romance, Best Category Romance Book, Best Romantic Suspense, Best LGBT+ Romance, Best Debuting Romance Author, Best Young Adult Romance, Best New Adult Romance, Best Romance Novella or Short Story, and Best Novel (non-romance) with strong romantic elements.

Information about the runoff is here.  Ballot is here.