Before I forget, here are my July reviews from The Romance Reader.

First Date
Maybe Baby
The River Devil

I’ve finished one review that haven’t been posted yet; two more are in progress. You’ll see more from me in August now that I’m back from my trip and I’m not dying from lack of air conditioning.

This blog entry is all about the cart, which I first showed in this entry. When I decided to attend the literacy signing in Reno, I remembered about how difficult it was to hold all the books I bought when I went to a Nora Roberts signing. At that signing, I held piles of books in my arms; then after a while, I bought a tote bag to hold them. Even then, it was a challenge. The number of books made my shoulder hurt after only a short time. Since I was expecting to buy a number of books in Reno, I figured I would need something different. I remembered seeing a collapsible cart, so I went looking for one online.

Although it didn’t fit in my suitcase (I ended up bringing it as a carry-on item), the cart was the best thing I could have had during my signing. It easily held all of my books, as you can see below.

This picture is actually more organized than it was during the actual signing, when it also carried my camera and a plastic bag that carried all of the author goodies. Still, it was very easy to use, although I did accidentally run over a foot or two. And it was so nice to keep my hands free.

The cart also helped people identify me. Many people apparently read my Romancing the Blog column where I mentioned it. A number of authors and attendees asked, “Are you Alyssa?” Megan found me this way, as did Wendy. Marjorie M. Liu, Jill Shalvis, and Suzanne McMinn recognized me right away because of my picture, the cart, or a combination of the two.

People who hadn’t read the column saw the cart and said they thought it was such a great idea. Several authors said something like this. The cart also came in handy when I needed to drag two boxes of books to the mail center. I put the heaviest box on the cart (it wouldn’t fit inside the cart). In fact, the box was so heavy it looked like it was bending the plastic. Yikes! The cart survived the experience, however, and appears to be suffering no ill effects.

My cart and I also caught the attention of a Canadian cable company, Bravo, during the literacy signing. As I was leaving Sherrilyn Kenyon’s line, a woman asked if I would be willing to answer a few questions for a documentary they are doing about romance. Apparently they noticed my cart full of books and deduced that I’m an avid romance reader. Imagine that.

I agreed to the interview and answered their questions, although I have mixed feelings now. I sounded like a complete dork. Anyway, they asked where I was from, how long I have been reading romance, what I like about romance, why I think romance is so appealing, what kind of romances I enjoy most. She specifically mentioned paranormals, but I’m not sure if that’s because they will be a focus of the documentary or because I was leaving the Sherrilyn Kenyon table.

I tried to be articulate, but I’m not sure I managed it. I talked about the escapism element, finding pleasure in reading happily-ever-afters, blah blah blah. I’m cringing even as I write this. The interviewer kept asking me to talk louder. I tried, but it was challenging enough to try to answer the questions intelligently, let alone to bellow my answers.

After the interview, I had to sign a release and provide my contact information. They will contact me to let me know if they use any part of my interview, and if so, when it will air. Part of me hopes they won’t use any part of my interview, but we’ll see what happens. I’ll keep you posted.

The literacy signing is one of the most remarkable things I have seen. It was Wednesday, July 27 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM. There were rows of long tables up and down the room where the authors sat with piles of books in front of them. The authors were seated in alphabetical order. I decided to start at the end and work my way up.

The Authors
The first author I saw was Evelyn Vaughn. I was disappointed that she didn’t have any of her Bombshells. She said that her publisher didn’t send any. She did, however, have a number of books from her backlist. I bought three of them. She gave me three excerpts from upcoming books. There is a fairly long excerpt from an upcoming Bombshell, which is coming out in February 2006. It will be a long wait.

Next, I stopped at Lisa Valdez’s table. I mentioned that I had been hearing good things about her book, Passion. She seemed pleased about that, although she said there has been a very mixed response: people either put it on their keeper shelves or throw it away. I bought a copy. She told me to be prepared to read lots of sex. I think I can handle it.

Then I said hello to Vicki Lewis Thompson. I bought one of her books and chatted with her. I was amazed that she recognized my name from her newsletter and website. I won a contest several months ago, and it was cool that she remembered me. Her daughter maintains her site, and she said that she will tell her daughter that she met me.

Vickie Taylor’s table was my next stop. She wasn’t there for a couple of minutes, but when she arrived, I told her that I was looking forward to reading Carved in Stone because people have been saying how original it is. I forgot to have her sign Bite the first time I passed her table, but I came back and had her sign it. At that time, she had a picture of the cover of her next book, Flesh and Stone.

While I was waiting for Vickie, I talked to Shanna Swendson and then felt like I should buy her book. So I have an autographed copy of Enchanted, Inc., even though Angie is sending me a copy for a trade. What can I say? I got carried away. “This purchase will support literacy” quickly became my mantra.

Next was Roxanne St. Claire. One of her books has been on my wish list, and I decided to get it if she had it there. She did, so I waited in line to talk to her. She took time to chat with everyone in line, which was nice.

My next impulse buy was Susan Squires’s The Companion. It’s a good book, but since I own a copy, I hadn’t planned to buy it. Still, it was great to get an autographed copy. She had a cool freebie, a small mirror in which people could see if they were vampires. Apparently I’m not one. I had wondered, since I’m such a night person.

Gena Showalter was next. I bought Awaken Me Darkly and mentioned that I visit her blog. She recognized my name, which is always fun. From her pictures, you can tell that she is slender, but you have to see her in person to realize how slim. I wonder if she would be willing to trade bodies for a day? Just for fun.

Then, I stopped to see Jill Shalvis. She recognized me and my cart. I bought a book, and she also signed Beach Blanket Bad Boys. It was great to finally meet her since we’ve been regular visitors at each other’s blogs for a while. She gave me her number so I could call and meet her the next day.

Julia Quinn had one of the longest lines I stood in all day, and it wasn’t really that long. There were 7 or 8 people ahead of me. Once I got to the front of the line, she signed the two books I brought along with a copy of It’s in His Kiss. I showed great restraint by waiting until this signing to buy the book. She posed for a picture (below).

Next I stopped at Sophia Nash’s table. I have autographed copies of two of her three books; I had brought the third with me to have it signed. Since it wasn’t one of the five I brought in, I ended up buying it. She recognized me from her website, too. She also wondered if she had met me somewhere; she said my face looked familiar. This was the first time I’ve met her, however. She asked me to wish her luck on Saturday, since she was up for a RITA. I did. Her book won in the Best Regency category.

Joy Nash’s table was my next stop. Celtic Fire sounded like such an intriguing setting and plot that I decided to get it. Like all the authors there, she was nice and seemed flattered when I mentioned that I had heard positive things about her book.

Lucy Monroe had a number of books available. Unfortunately, I had most of them. I ended up getting a Harlequin Presents title. She’s very nice, and she signed Beach Blanket Bad Boys as well.

Then, I stopped at Tanya Michaels‘ table. I told her that I had bought several of her books during the fundraising effort for Jamie Denton. She thanked me for participating in the fundraiser and for stopping and introducing myself. I bought her latest Flipside.

I stopped to see Jess Michaels as I was on my way out. Since I didn’t have enough books in my cart (LOL!), I bought the Secrets 12 anthology. I was pretty tired, so I didn’t stop to chat.

Suzanne McMinn was another author I was very excited to meet. Like Jill, Suzanne recognized me. She took a picture of me with my cart, so that may show up online at some point. It was fun to stop and say hello. I already had an autographed copy of the book she had available, so I didn’t get anything. She posed for a picture (below).

I’ve loved all of Erin McCarthy’s books, so I was thrilled to meet her. I bought one book and she posed for a picture (below). We talked about the fact that she has three books coming out in October, and she explained how that happened. The short version: two different publishers, then one book was moved up on the publishing schedule.

Next was Marjorie M. Liu. I loved her debut book, and I read her blog regularly. She was very nice, and like many authors, recognized the cart. LOL! I bought her last copies of the two books she had available for purchase. Tiger Eye was one of the books sitting in the trunk of my car. In any case, it was nice to meet her. She is beautiful and friendly.

I had decided to buy Dirty Little Secrets by Julie Elizabeth Leto if it was available. It was, so I waited in her line. She had a number of freebies, including a notepad and pen (which I used to write in my travel journal). She also signed the copy of Dare Me I got from Jill Shalvis.

While waiting in line for Julie Leto, Tina Leonard gave me a couple of bookmarks. I read about the books and ended up buying one of them. Another impulse buy, but hey, it was for literacy.

Then, I moved on to Jade Lee’s table and bought Hungry Tigress. The previous book in the series, White Tigress, was very memorable, and I told Jade that I was looking forward to reading this one.

By the time I got to Angela Knight, she had sold out of books. She did sign Bite as well as a poster of her artwork. I’ll scan it and add the picture in the next day or so.

The first time I passed Sherrilyn Kenyon’s line, it was packed. I figured I wouldn’t see her, but the line was a bit smaller when I passed again. I had a moment of panic when it looked like the woman in front of me got the last book. Luckily, she had about a dozen left under the table. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I met her, but she was very nice. She made a point of shaking each person’s hand and talking for a moment. She also posed for a picture (below).

While waiting in Sherrilyn’s line, I talked to Beth Kendrick and bought a copy of her latest book. I mentioned that it must be difficult because Sherrilyn’s line was so long and tended to block traffic. She said that it did, but she also talked to several people like me who were waiting in the line. Still, I think it would be better next year if they put Sherrilyn’s table in a different place, maybe at the end of a row.

The cover of Rita Herron’s latest book has intrigued me during my last few trips to the bookstore. Since she had it there, I got it. I mentioned that I liked the cover. She said she wasn’t sure she liked the woman’s face on the cover when she first saw it, but she’s gotten so many compliments afterward that she is pleased with it.

Lori Handeland had copies of Dark Moon. I’ve been looking forward to it. She also had a small table sign showing the cover of her next book in the Moon series. It was great to meet her. I told her that I really loved Blue Moon.

Next, I met Laura Lee Guhrke. She signed her latest book and also gave me a cute silver charm of a bed. It was the perfect giveaway to go along with her book. I told her that His Every Kiss was my favorite of the books I’ve read so far.

I love the Harlequin Temptations Jane Graves has written as Jane Sullivan, and I guessed that she would probably have copies of her latest Temptation. I was right, so I bought that and told her that I enjoyed her other books as well.

I’ve heard many good things about Susan Grant, so I picked up one of her books since she was next to two authors I was seeing. I picked Contact, since she said it was a stand-alone. I figured that would be a good choice to start with.

I visit Lori Devoti’s blog, so I stopped at her table to say hello. When I told her that her book was one of the ones out in my car, she kindly gave me an autographed bookplate I could put inside the book. It was so nice to see her.

I’ve been reading Janelle Denison’s books for years, so I stopped at her table and picked up the one book she had that I didn’t already have. She gave me a ziploc bag stuffed with goodies.

I’m a recent fan of Jacquie D’Alessandro. I enjoy both her historicals and her categories. I hoped that she would have her upcoming Blaze title, but no such luck. I bought copies of the two books she had there.

Claudia Dain wrote one of my favorite medievals, The Marriage Bed, but I forgot to tell her how much I enjoyed it. I’ll have to send her an e-mail. In any case, I bought a copy of her latest book.

The cover of The Seduction of Sarah is intriguing, and I decided to buy it when I saw that Cynthia Clement was at the signing. I ended up buying her last copy. This is her first published book, so it will be fun to try it.

Then, I stopped to see Pamela Clare. I told her that I had read and enjoyed Ride the Fire, which I checked out of the library, and wanted a copy for myself. She seemed pleased to hear that I liked it. She told me that it is part of a series, which I hadn’t known; it doesn’t read like one in a series. She was pleased to hear that it stood alone well, too.

Next came another impulse purchase: a book by PC Cast. I mentioned that I visit the Smart Bitches blog, and she said how much she loves that blog. I asked if I should find the other books in the Goddess series and read them in order, to which she replied, “Please.” Looks like I’ve got some book hunting to do.

Lisa Cach’s Dream of Me has been on my wish list for a while, so I bought a copy of it. She’s a nice woman, and her smile makes you want to smile, too. She gave me a cover flat for an upcoming anthology.

By the time I got to Mary Balogh’s table, she didn’t have any books left to buy. This made me doubly grateful that I had chosen Heartless as one of the books I brought inside with me. She signed it and mentioned that it was an interesting book to write. She enjoyed writing about a hero who looked effeminate but was still very masculine. She had leather bookmarks available, so I got one and thanked her for signing my book.

The Books
And that was it. I ended up buying:

• The Player by Evelyn Vaughn
• Buried Secrets by Evelyn Vaughn
• Forests of the Moon by Evelyn Vaughn
• Passion by Lisa Valdez
• Hero Gone Wild by Vicki Lewis Thompson
• Carved in Stone by Vickie Taylor
• Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson
• Killer Curves by Roxanne St. Claire
• The Companion by Susan Squires
• Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter
• Dare Me by Jill Shalvis, Julie Elizabeth Leto, and Cherry Adair
• It’s in His Kiss by Julia Quinn
• A Passionate Endeavor by Sophia Nash
• Celtic Fire by Joy Nash
• Blackmailed into Marriage by Lucy Monroe
• Spicing It Up by Tanya Michaels
• Secrets 12 by Jess Michaels (and others)
• A Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy
• Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu
• A Taste of Crimson by Marjorie M. Liu
• Dirty Little Secrets by Julie Leto
• Unzipped by Tina Leonard
• Hungry Tigress by Jade Lee
• Return of the Warrior by Kinley MacGregor (Sherrilyn Kenyon)
• Exes and Ohs by Beth Kendrick
• A Breath Away by Rita Herron
• Dark Moon by Lori Handeland
• The Marriage Bed by Laura Lee Guhrke
• Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke
• One Night in Texas by Jane Sullivan
• Contact by Susan Grant
• Men at Work by Janelle Denison (and others)
• Love and the Single Heiress by Jacquie D’Alessandro
• We’ve Got Tonight by Jacquie D’Alessandro
• The Fall by Claudia Dain
• The Seduction of Sarah by Cynthia Clement
• Ride the Fire by Pamela Clare
• Goddess of Light by PC Cast
• Dream of Me by Lisa Cach

During the first hour or so of the signing, I gave some thought to the idea of buying the books, then going back out to my car to bring five more books in and have them signed. Time didn’t allow for that. There were only 15 minutes left when I was done shopping. The line to buy books was thankfully short. Two women added up my books, then I took the receipt to another table to pay. While the two women were adding them, one said that I had really diverse tastes, which I thought was interesting. All three women expressed amazement over the number of books I bought.

Now for the information you really want. The total. Are you ready?

$300.47

Good thing I’ve been saving for a while, huh? I ended up with 39 books, 8 of which I already own, 4 of which I actually had in my car.

All in all, the literacy signing was wonderful. I was disappointed about the books I brought that weren’t signed, but I got so many other books and had so much fun meeting authors, that my disappointment faded into the background. I was also pleasantly surprised that I was able to get to most of the authors on my list. I hadn’t thought I would have time to meet them all. I’m glad I was wrong.

Authors I Missed
There were some authors I was hoping to see but missed for a variety of reasons. When I got to Jaci Burton’s table, there was one Ellora’s Cave book on her table but she wasn’t there. I was planning to see Susan Carroll, but I missed her table somehow in the crowd. I missed CT Adams and Cathy Clamp (just saw a pile of books at Cathy’s table). I don’t remember seeing Kimberly Dean, but again, I might have missed her in the crowd of people. Linda Lael Miller had a number of books at her table, but I never saw her.

The biggest disappointment was missing Jennifer LaBrecque. I missed her the first time because the Kenyon line was blocking her table. The second time, she had stepped away from her table. The third time, she had packed up and left. Just bad luck.

Next topic: adventures with the cart.

Upcoming topics: author giveaways, other days of the Reno trip, Rendezvous in Reno, and more.

Reno’s motto is “The Biggest Little Town in the World,” and after being there, I can understand why. It has a big city feel, but it is fairly small for a city. My hotel was on the opposite side of town from the Hilton (where the conference was held), yet it was only a five-minute drive away.

I arrived in Reno Wednesday morning, made a stop at a local used bookstore because it was too early to check into my hotel (really!), and made sure I could find the Hilton. It was not hard to find. In fact, I could see it from my hotel room window. The view was not particularly scenic otherwise, but oh well.

I’ve blogged about the number of books I was taking to the literacy signing. I arrived about 45 minutes early for the signing and was toward the front of the line as a result. I had my bag full of books as well as my cart (of course), and when a woman came by with stickers to mark the books we were bringing in, I did something very, very stupid. I asked if the stickers I had would be OK.

This, in turn, prompted a flurry of activity in which I was told that I COULD NOT have more than five books signed. So I was going through my books when another woman came back and told me that I had to take all but five books back to my hotel room. I told her I wasn’t staying at the Hilton, so she said to take them out to my car.

Nice.

I understand that they didn’t want all kinds of people bringing in dozens of books. That could get real complicated real fast. And I understand that they didn’t want to hold up the lines for Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Suzanne Brockmann, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Debbie Macomber, all of whom had huge lines. But I didn’t bring books from any of these authors. The woman who talked to me wasn’t very nice about it, either.

Moreover, I didn’t see people walking up and down the line making sure people only had five books. I feel like I got nailed because I was trying to be helpful by asking about the stickers.

As you might imagine, it was challenging to narrow the 31 books to 5. There is a reason I took 31 books in the first place; selecting 5 was difficult. Here’s what I ultimately chose:

• Beach Blanket Bad Boys anthology: It was already autographed by Alison Kent, and I figured it would be a good way to get a few more autographs.
• Bite anthology: This one had been signed by Charlaine Harris.
• Heartless by Mary Balogh: I went through a great deal of effort to get a like-new copy of this Mary Balogh novel, so it was an easy choice.
• When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn: This is my favorite of Julia Quinn’s books; in fact, it is one of my favorite books read last year.
• Brighter Than the Sun by Julia Quinn: This one was next to When He Was Wicked, so I grabbed it on impulse.

After I returned from my car, which seemed like it was parked 1/2-mile away in the huge Hilton parking lot, there were about 10 minutes before the signing opened. I was allowed to return to my original place in line, but my face was red from rushing out to the car and being in the heat. My face tends to get red when I sweat. This is not an especially attractive look for me.

Luckily I had time before the signing began to calm down and let my face change from bright red to a healthy pink. I was still pretty upset until I walked into the actual signing; then, I was too busy to be upset about not having the other books signed.

Next post: the literacy signing. Be patient; it will take time to write. In fact, it may be my longest blog entry ever.

The title of this blog says it all. I’m home from Reno at last, but I’m half dead, too. I had a great time in Reno, although the flight home was awful. I have pages and pages of notes in my travel journal, so I will start writing about the trip once my brain cells start to function again.

The title may look like the combination for a safe, but no. Each number has an individual significance.

1
The number of days until my air conditioning is installed at last. I’m very excited about this or would be, if it seemed real. I’ve been without it for so long that it seems amazing that I’ll actually have it tomorrow. How nice it will be to sleep in an actual bed again! I have just one more night on the couch in the cooler basement

2
The number of days until I leave for Reno. I’m flying out early Wednesday morning and will be back Saturday night. I’ve decided to leave my laptop at home, so you won’t hear from me until Saturday night or Sunday.

31
The number of books I’m taking to the signing. Yes, I know that there is a stated limit of five, but I’m bringing a cart (as you know; it will hold a lot of books) and I’ve been saving money so I can do some serious spending. I’ve put stickers on the books I’m bringing, so people will know I brought them from home. If people get upset that I’m bringing 31 books when more than 400 are signing, I’ve decided that’s their problem. This number excludes the books below.

5
The number of books I’m bringing for Suzanne McMinn to sign. I’m hoping to catch her during another time at the conference so she can sign them. It will be so nice to finally meet her, Jo, and Jill, who are all regular visitors at my blog.

9
The number of books I’m bringing for Jo Leigh to sign.

23
Jill Shalvis foolishly graciously said she would sign anything I brought. Still, she might take one look at this number and run for the hills. If she doesn’t make an appearance at the conference, you’ll know why.

This may be my last post before I leave. If so, have a great week! I’m bringing my travel journal with me, so I’m sure I’ll have a lot to post when I return. I’m also (of course) taking the digital camera.

I saw this quiz at Angie’s blog. The results might help explain my love of vampire romances.

You are Form 9, Vampire: The Undying.

“And The Vampire was all that remained on the blood drowned creation. She attempted to regrow life from the dead. But as she was about to give the breath of life, she was consumed in the flame of The Phoenix and the cycle began again.”

Some examples of the Vampire Form are Hades (Greek) and Isis (Egyptian). The Vampire is associated with the concept of death, the number 9, and the element of fire. Her sign is the eclipsed moon.

As a member of Form 9, you are a very realistic individual. You may be a little idealistic, but you are very grounded and down to earth. You realize that not everything lasts, but you savor every minute of the good times. While you may sometimes find yourself lonely, you have strong ties with people that will never be broken. Vampires are the best friends to have because they are sensible.

Which Mythological Form Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

It’s Saturday evening; guess what I’m not reading? I bought my copy of Harry Potter, but I can’t bring myself to start it. I wish I could say that I’m showing restraint, but that’s not it. It’s just too hot without A/C to think about reading a book that long.

Instead, I’m reading an anthology I was sent for review, Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? by Gemma Bruce. Since it’s an anthology, I can read a few pages and put it down if I want. Harry Potter will have to wait until next weekend.

My column will be up soon at Romancing the Blog, and the topic is book signings, something I’ve blogged about here before, but not quite from this angle.

The column includes a picture of a cart I’m taking with me to the signing in Reno next week.

It’s collapsible, so I’ll toss it in a suitcase. One thing I learned at the Nora Roberts signing is that you don’t want to have to worry about carrying/juggling books, especially when you’re planning to make a bulk purchase. I’ll have to remember to take a picture of it when it’s full.

I thought I’d share another book signing story here. I wanted to include it in the column, but the column was long already, and I wanted to keep it focused.

Last year, I walked into Media Play to do some shopping and saw that there were signs out that an author was having a signing right then. I can’t remember who it was, but I believe it was a local author. The book was being marketed as young-adult fiction, a genre I’m not particularly interested in, so I skirted the table and went back to the book section. I have been known to . . . okay, I quite often buy books at signings like this to show support for local (or lonely-looking) authors, but since it was a genre I don’t often read, I wanted to think about it while I looked around.

So, I was back in the book section of the store, I had a book in my hand that I was thumbing through, and a man approached me. He was in his mid-30s/early-40s. He asked, “Are you looking for something interesting to read?” I thought he was an employee, so I said something like, “Yes, I’m just browsing this section,” which would cue an employee that I don’t need help, so he can back off now.

That’s not what he did, however. No, he said, “Let me share this book with you.” About halfway through his monologue, I realized that he was the author of the book signing, and he was pitching his book to me. He told me that it’s a young-adult book, but it also had fantasy elements, and it was inspirational, and so on. I can tell that he was trying to cover as many bases as possible so that I would buy it, no matter what genre I like.

In the meantime, I was thinking that I’m on my lunch break, I need to get back to work soon, and I’m just here to get the next three books in the In Death series. This guy probably needed my money more than Nora does, but for once, I didn’t have time or money to browse, and the fact that he approached me while I was browsing made him seem kind of desperate. It made me more determined not to buy his book.

How should he have handled it? Well, he obviously wasn’t busy, because I saw him pitching to two more people before I left the store. Nevertheless, an employee could have walked up and down the book aisles with the author’s book flyer, saying, “We have a special treat today–author xx is here to sign copies of his book!” Then hand out the flyer, point out the table, and go on his way. I can’t prove that this would have resulted in more sales, but I think that approach would be less likely to make people angry.

I consider myself to be a fan of J.D. Robb’s In Death series. I’ve enjoyed all of the books to varying degrees. Today I finished listening to Origin in Death, and I think it’s one of the stronger books in the series. It’s certainly the strongest book in the past few years: 5 out of 5.

NYPSD lieutenant Eve Dallas discovers a nearly spotless record when she investigates the past of Dr. Wilfred Icove. Then, she finds data disks at his home that are not only password-protected, but encoded. Once deciphered, they hint at medical experiments that may have led more than one person to want him dead.

The In Death books are futuristic, but Origin in Death feels more futuristic than many installments of the series. I was fascinated by the multilayered mystery. Every time I thought I had figured things out, the situation twists. I liked the fact that this story is very different from the one in the other books.

While I enjoy the In Death mysteries, I read the series primarily for the interaction of the characters. If that’s the case for you, you’ll love this book. There are several terrific moments with the characters. One in particular, where Eve mimics an Irish accent, is particularly funny when listening to it. This story is full of amusing and memorable moments. In fact, I like the book so much, I am listening to it again.

Here’s a story that might amuse you. I received the audiobook first (in fact, I’m still waiting for the hardcover), so I’ve been listening to the book to and from work and in the evenings. Yesterday, I had to drive downtown for work, and I pulled up to a parking garage. The audiobook was playing fairly loud, but since Roarke wasn’t in this particular scene (and therefore, he wouldn’t be getting it on with Eve right then), I figured I would be fine leaving the audio on. So, the guy asked for $5, and as I dug in my wallet, with the window rolled down, Mavis said, “Check out these t*ts!” Then I was digging in my wallet and fumbling to lower the volume. Oy!