The American Cousin by Dawn Lindsey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Likeable characters, good plot. Some redundancy in writing, dialogue a little long-winded at parts, but overall, the books is entertaining and engaging. Darker issue of war horrors, good read. View all my reviews

Once Touched, Never Forgotten by Natasha Tate My rating: 5 of 5 stars Really liked this book. Heroine is strong and mature, hero is alpha male but there are things he thinks and says that give him vulnerability without making him weak. There were a couple moments in the dialogue that were a little illogical but most of the time the conversation was refreshing, heated, and insightful. Sex scenes are very hot and on the more graphic end of most Presents I've read (just FYI in case that bothers you). Overall, highly enjoyable story. View all my reviews

In case you were looking for Christmas gift ideas ... I got my dad a Nook Color earlier this year for his birthday, and he loves it. He can check his email, play his video poker games (he downloaded a Nook app) and buy and read his science fiction ebooks. Dad used to read tons of science fiction--his favorite author is Alan Dean Foster. Mom said he hadn't been reading much before he got the Nook Color and now he's reading as much as he used to when he was younger. He said he's been pretty happy to get to download Alan Dean Foster's backlist books that he hadn't read yet. I got him the Nook Color because I guessed it would be easy to use even for my 70-something year old father, and it definitely is. Exciting new update from NOOK® at Barnes & Noble. Check out our lowest-ever pricing on our award-winning NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color devices in time for the holidays. NOOK Tablet, originally $179 is now available for only $159. NOOK Color, originally $149 is ...

The Talisman by Dawn Lindsey My rating: 3 of 5 stars The story premise was great, and the conflict between the heroine and her family was terrific. However something about the dialogue between the hero and heroine in certain scenes didn't quite grab me--it was a little repetitive and lacked conflict and tension. Overall, an entertaining book. View all my reviews

I’m over at the ChristiansRead blog today talking about NaNoWriMo and what I’m working on! Are you interested in writing a novel? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? Weigh in !

One of my favorite places on my trip was wandering the grounds of Lord Byron’s estate, Newstead Abbey. It was amazing! The grounds are very extensive but also there’s a real sense of peace there. I would love to live on the grounds and wander around with my laptop to write in various places of the estate. I’m so glad my friend, author Liz Babbs , took me here. The grounds aren’t as extensive as Chatsworth, but Newstead Abbey had by far my favorite grounds and gardens on my trip. I couldn’t go inside the abbey because the house wasn’t open on the day I visited--it’s only open one day a week to visitors. I’d love to go back to England to go inside the abbey, too, and also revisit the grounds. There’s a little information about Newstead Abbey here on wikipedia and here’s the official website of Newstead Abbey , which is owned by the city of Nottingham. If I ever become a famous New York Times bestselling author, I am totally buying a flat or condo on the Newstead Abbey grounds! ...