a mid-summer's Night contest!

Coming in September: THE NIGHT SERPENT

All her life Lily Malkin has been plagued by nightmares she can never quite remember. Nightmares that haunt her with glimpses of past lives and past betrayals. Lately, the nightmares—and the memories—have gotten worse. A shadowy figure that destroyed her once before is closing in....

The Night Serpent's ritualistic cat killings bring Special Agent Jon T. Patrick to town. But it's Lily — the intriguing "Cat Whisperer" brought in to help solve the case — who makes him want to stay. Their passion is electric…and dangerous. Because Jon isn't the only one watching Lily. And as the Night Serpent begins his final strike, the stakes are raised for a battle to the death - and beyond.

Available from the publisher and wherever books are sold (also available as an e-book!)

Also in September from eHarlequin: Anna Leonard's novelette "Dreamcatcher" (e-format only)

A young woman is struck down by an exhaustion so severe, she cannot care for herself. All she wants is to get back to normal… but the nurse's aid sent to help her isn't what she expected. For one thing, she's a he. A sexy, no-nonsense male… who may not have her best interests in mind.

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In honor of "Anna's" debut, I'm running a contest. And, to represent Lily Malkin the Cat Whisperer, it will of course be... a LOLcatcontest!


Choose your Picture. Aim your LOL. Enter by August 19th. Make me LMAOSTC and win a signed copy of THE NIGHT SERPENT before it's available in stores!
(memembers of LAG's immediate family or minions of same not eligible to win)

1. 2.
3.

Good luck, and may the best LOL win!


(all comments will be screened until a winner is chosen)

when cultures don't just collide, they share a toothbrush...

lox-fried rice.

It's so wrong, it's right.

w00t! Another review for FREE FALL

from our own Michael Jones @ Green Man Review:

(the bolded bits are my doing)
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( the-story-so-far recap )

Free Fall is the fifth book in the Retrievers series, and Gilman pretty much kicks things up to eleven as she moves all of the pieces on the board towards the inevitable confrontation. Silence, Talents, Lonejacks, Fatae and humans alike all have their parts to play as things get epically [sic] messy and the current story arc reaches its climax and conclusion. It's a fast-paced story, as electrical and sharp as the current our heroine wields against her enemies, as raw and ragged as the emotions she experiences as Wren Valere goes through one of the worst times of her life.

Not that it's all hard-hitting action, or blazing magical combat. Free Fall doesn't skimp on the characterization or development, especially as Gilman looks as those closest to Wren and how events have affected them. From Sergei, whose conflicting loyalties are brought to a breaking point; to the demon P.B. who decides that now is the time and place to make a stand; to Bonnie, Wren's friend and fellow Talent who can't approve of the way things are going; to all of Manhattan's Fatae, we see the cost of this war . . . and what they stand to lose if things go against them.

One of the strong points of Gilman's setting here is that actions have consequences, and power has a price, and we see both of these things in full force. Everything Wren does causes a reaction, and everything the Silence does causes a reaction, and in some cases, those separate yet equal reactions end up feeding off one another. It's almost ironic that at one point, the Silence realizes that they, in fact, provoked Wren into taking things further than she would have done ordinarily, thus bringing her wrath down upon them . . . and it's their fault. Meanwhile, Wren taps into far greater power than she normally uses, and risks losing herself to the current, a much-feared fate known as "wizzing" among the Talents. There's a cost to using the level she does, and she may very well pay that price with her soul. Gilman's not afraid to show us these costs, as both major and minor characters get taken off the board throughout the course of the series and the story. Change happens, and people grow, which is always satisfying in a series like this, where it would be tempting to maintain a certain status quo.

I really enjoyed Free Fall, like I have the rest of the series. It's strong, enjoyable, complex stories like this which have made Harlequin's Luna line more than just another romance imprint, and you can bet I'll be eagerly awaiting the next book.