Nothing Like a Keeper Book While On a Keeper Vacation

(from usatoday.com
by Joyce Lamb)


Today's featured authors: Collette Cameron, author of The Earl's Enticement, and Vicki Pettersson, author of The Given. We're talking vacation destinations and keeper books.

Collette Cameron, author of The Earl's Enticement

Three of my favorite vacation destinations:

Favorite vacation destination No. 1? Scotland!

I'm going the summer of 2015. Castles, Gretna Green, highlands, moors ... men in kilts, I want to see it all. Yes, I do have Scottish heritage. Well, actually it's Viking, but to be able to buy a Cameron tartan or visit the Cameron Clan Castle, munch on Scottish shortbread or traditional cloutie dumpling. Bliss!

Then there's Italy; Rome and Venice, specifically.

I could easily spend a summer in Italy and never soak in enough of the country's rich history. The Pantheon, Colosseum, Palatine Hill — where to start? How about punting down a waterway in a gondola or touring St. Mark's Basilica?

And the food! Heavenly.

Lastly, France.

Paris is the most beautiful city I've ever seen. It fairly exudes romance. I've been there, but hubby hasn't, so a return vacation is a must. The only wine I've ever liked, I drank in France. The Louvre was astounding, Notre Dame humbling, and the Eiffel Tower? Breathtaking, though I still won't go to the top. I'm afraid of heights.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the out-of-this-world pastries in France. They're like nothing I've ever tasted anywhere else.

Hmm, I seem to be a bit obsessed with food, don't I? Well, it's a vacation, so eat up!

Here's the blurb about The Earl's Enticement:

She won't be tamed.

A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society's dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects.

He can't forget.

Haunted by his past, Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding himself and those around him to the highest standards, no matter the cost. Betrayed once, he's guarded and leery of all women.

Mistaking Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows vengeance. Realizing her error, she's appalled and releases him, but he's not satisfied with his freedom. Roark is determined to transform Adaira from an ill-mannered hoyden to a lady of refinement.

He succeeds only to discover, he preferred the free-spirited Scottish lass who first captured his heart.

Find out more at collettecameron.com.

Vicki Pettersson, author of The Given

Three books on my keeper shelves:

• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. In my opinion, this is what fiction is all about. It's totally immersive, unswervingly epic, and speaks to the human spirit with eloquence and precise language (a feat, considering how long it is!). This is why I read and why I write, and I can't wait for the miniseries to start this summer.

• Queenpin by Megan Abbott. All of Abbott's work is wonderful, it's hard to pick a favorite, but this was the first book I read by her, and its verisimilitude and voice devastated me. It's powerful and elegant and flattens anything else that might be rolling around in your mind. Sometimes I just dip back into my copy to sample her words and tone before I go on with my day.

• A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane. Another writing king who can harness the minutia of everyday life and magnify that grain of literary sand until it becomes a world unto itself. His has a beautiful dark heart, and while this crime series is gritty and realistic, it has truths that still allow the reader to have hope — for the characters, the world, and ourselves.

Here's the blurb about The Given:

The Given continues the thrilling saga of a fallen angel/private eye and spirited, rockabilly reporter battling against all odds in Sin City. With dark family secrets to unearth and a Mafia to take down, Pettersson paints both gritty scenes and heartfelt emotion with incredible imagination. She creates a unique and innovative world in this genre-bending series: the immortal realm of the Everlast, where Centurions (mortals turned angels) and Pure angels co-exist on the celestial plane. A perfect mix of classic noir mystery, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance—and just the right amount of crime scene drama that will intrigue readers until the very last page.

After learning his wife survived the attack that killed him fifty years earlier, angel/PI Griffin Shaw is determined to find Evelyn Shaw—no matter what the cost. But his obsession will have to come at a price—and a high one at that. Grif is forced to give up his burgeoning love for reporter Katherine "Kit" Craig, the woman who made life worth living again, and dedicate himself to finding one he might not even recognize today.

But when Kit is attacked for a second time, it's clear that there are forces in both the mortal and heavenly realm determined to protect secrets buried in the past. In order to survive his second go-round on the Surface, Grif must convince Kit to reunite with him professionally to help uncover decades of deceit from dangerous enemies both old and new. Once confronted with a looming prophecy and a tight deadline, Grif will need to make sacrifices that test his limits as an angel—and his love for Kit. Pettersson wraps her Celestial Blues trilogy beautifully, and answers the one deadly question readers are longing to know: Who killed Griffin Shaw?

Find out more at www.vickipettersson.com.