WHEN THE ONE HUNDRED ROMANCES PROJECTS SPEAKS WE ALL LISTEN

Authors, by the very dynamics of being authors, are for the most part,

solitary creatures, so when the words we weave in the depths of our busy imaginations

make waves in the real world, we're shocked, speechless, and toddling around on the top of the world.

I only JUST learned The One Hundred Romances Project did an actual review of IN FROM THE COLD one my Muse It Up Releases...

That alone would have had me

circumnavigating the surface of our world, but to also be told I MADE the top 100 favorites for the entire 2011 year...


But there's more...I am only one of the authors

Muse It Up Publishing releases each year. Our publications took  a staggering ELEVEN of the top placements...with one of our authors claiming THREE and another claiming TWO.

I am beyond

proud to be a part of this gifted group...so it is an honor to share our winners here and with all of you.

Taking position # 8 is our soother of all nerves through her musical offerings to us while bestowing upon the the reading world Greece at it's most powerful

VIVIANE BRENTANOS, with her book

WRITTEN IN STONE, cover by Muse's Queen Cover Art Goddess, Delilah K. Stephans. Adult Content: What is a girl to do when dumped five days before her planned ‘wedding of the century?’ Go on her honeymoon, of course. 
 

But Viviane is far from done. Taking position #25  is

COLD, COLD, HEART, cover also by Queen Delilah K. Stephans. ADULT CONTENT:Who is Daniel Hayes? Why does a man who has everything - fame, fortune and the world at his feet feel so empty? What is his interest in Rachel Warner, a girl from a quiet Home Counties English town? 


Positon #34 is claimed by Jolie Pethel and her book

PAINTED JEZEBEL, cover by The Queen's right hand Cover Art Goddess Suzannah Safi.
Publicist Finn Mackenzie has always been lucky, until an ill-fated affair with a vindictive writer leaves him one chance for redemption: a spectacular public appearance by the elusive best-selling romance author, Jezebel Jinx.

Following closely at her footsteps is our illustrious champion

Christine London and the first of her THREE winners,

WHEN WE WERE AMAZING, cover by Queen Delilah
When tragedy nearly destroys Brian's family wine business, can this reluctant young heir forfeit his dreams and online love to save it? 


Placing her roots down in the 63rd position is

Karen Coté, (have you heard of our Coté Comet?...Well no surprise that here she is," with her debut Muse release

EROTIC DECEPTION, cover created by Suzannah Safi
ADULT CONTENT: Told she’d never have children…abracadabra, she’s pregnant. Would the man she loved disappear when he found out? 

The Queen takes position 72 for the book she WROTE, created the cover for, and sailed into the top spots all over the publishing world, Delilah K. Stephans and her

GHOSTLY PASSIONS.
ADULT CONTENT: Add one sexy ghost and a paranormal researcher together and sparks fly.

Back for her second trip into the top one hundred is our Christine London with

HOG WILD, cover by Her Majesty the Queen
ADULT CONTENT: Will the hard driving, salty tongued gorgeous mechanic Kyle Matthews relies upon to fix his Harley be able to mend his heart, as well? 

And now, sneaking in to the 75th spot, is me, L.J. Holmes, with my erotic tome

IN FROM THE COLD, cover by our Queen, Delilah K. Stephans, and co-starring, Timp the lovable imp of a cat.
ADULT CONTENT:Mari loves men who are intimately communicating with the Grim Reaper, like her only mountain neighbor, ninety-plus year old Hector. Twelve years and now she's enjoying her solitude, till Hector ups and dies.

Dragons, dragons claim the hot 77th placement spot with

Antonia Tiranth's

dragon epoch,

KELLAN'S DRAGON, cover by...yep The Queen.
No parents, No history, and Linked to a Dragon that hates me - Am I having fun yet?

Frank Scully is our master






of mystery and

RESURECTION GARDEN (winner of the 2010 P&E Readers Poll Awards) taking position 86 is no surprise to those of us following his masterful way of holding us in the grip of his prose while forcing us to wrongly unravel the mysteries he plots before us. Cover for this book...well can you guess who? Right again...the Queen.
Jake Turner, a man who travels alone with a reputation he would like to leave behind, is a target for ruthless killers who want to stop him from solving a murder. And that’s the least of his problems. 


And finally claiming her THIRD top 100 spot at #88 is Christine London again with the very powerful 2012 EPIC Ariana Award Finalist...

SHADOWS STEAL THE LIGHT, and yeah, her cover is by the Queen too.
It’s love at first sight for rock star Colin Dunlow when he runs into sultry jazz singer, Jenna Lindstrom, with a few complications. The woman of his dreams hates rockers and there’s someone who wants him dead.

So there you have it, and all of our books are available at the Muse It Up Bookstore as well as Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever the best in print and e-books are available.

Before I happily send this out to the world with the pride of a Muse Author in such powerful company, I must also take note of Muse Author's that won placements for their NON-Muse releases at well.

Viviane Brentanos'

FRAGILE DREAMS took 6th Place.

At #87 by

Rochelle Weber,

ROCK BOUND


To the reviewers over at THE ONE HUNDRED ROMANCES PROJECT thank you for honoring our work with your recognition.

We have a motto here at Muse that we work very hard to adhere to...

BUILDING THE TEAM...TO ACHIEVE THE DREAM

The One Hundred Romances Project
http://onehundredromances.blogspot.com/
has helped us take eleven giant steps towards that dream.

GLENN KLEIER GOES AUDIO

I am not a big hero worshipper, but

Glenn Kleier is one man I actively, willingly, happily, and without qualms bow before and will always do so.

In days gone by, I suffered the horrible treatment needed to combat cancer. It was during those days filled with nausea, radiation blisters, and more hair coating my pillow each morning than clinging to my head I found Glenn Kleier, a writer with such a powerful voice, he turned my life around.

I went from dreading each day, to knowing I was meant to find Glenn's first book, facing forward on the entrance way shelves in my library. That book? The Last Day...a modern take on the path

Jeza, a female incarnation of the original Bearer of God's love, power, and compassion. It changed my life and gave me back my deep belief in God and my own role in His plan.

I sat eagerly waiting the next Glenn Kleier book and felt like I'd hit the lottery jackpot when

The Knowledge of Good and Evil released.



Today, Mother's Day, my idol let me know Knowledge is being released as an

audio book...so of course I had to come in and brag about this man, this author, and now the voice who will take on the dynamic job of bringing to life the drama and inflections that exist within the pages of THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.

Let's begin with the compilation of covers Glenn Kleier has amassed.

I am going to begin with the original The Knowledge of Good and Evil for the hard cover edition released last year...It's a powerful cover with a lot going on but so far in the distance I had trouble picking out any one event or action...Now here's the 2012 cover for this book and its mass media release...





Holy Moley...are you as breathlessly captivated by this cover as I am? I LOVE this story, but this cover zinged with me...and you want to know why?

Remember that cover that faced forward on the entrance shelves as I walked into my library back in 1999, when I first found Glenn Kleier's voice? That book is THE LAST DAY and here's the cover...



Power that jumps out and grabs you, right? And that's exactly what it did for me from the very beginning. The two covers, the new one for 2012's The Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the cover for Glenn Kleier's

Internationally acclaimed best selling The Last Day share the same ethereal punch...too powerful to resist. (I don't try, by the way.)

NOW I am going to copy and paste the information Glenn gave me concerning the audio actor who took on this monumental task, and did so quite successfully.

Let's start with the cover...the NEW audio book cover...

Here it is...The Tree of Knowledge and the two sides of Ian Baringer's journey. I am more than a little impressed.

For the next part I call upon the Mother's Day e-mail I received in Glenn's own resonating words...here's SOME of what awaited me. But before I turn it over to Glenn's words, I want to take this moment and thank him for one of the best Mother's Day gifts I've ever gotten...and Glenn I will be one of the first in line when your next book appears on our horizons.

MacLeod Andrews

MacLeod is a man of many voices, one of few actors with the ability to tackle the dozens of characters and dialects KNOWLEDGE required. English, French, German, Italian, Irish, Polish, Cockney, Rastafarian, Asian, Indian, Brazilian, to mention only some—and not forgetting the characters of both God and Satan. His performance is amazing and I’m most grateful he took this project on. 

Audio editions are now available from the following sources:

Audible: http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B007Z29EWQ&qid=1336445398&sr=1-1

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007Z75ORA

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/glenn-kleier/id365488136?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

FIVE GOLD STARS FOR ROCK OF REALM by Lea Schizas

Alex Stone is a typical young girl. Chores are a bore, parents have too many eyes in the back of their heads, and some days they're more annoying than others. Today is one of those days, thanks to her dog, Butch...his middle name should be "Trouble" since he's always getting her into it.

Alex is this tight with her best friend Sarah, and despite the trouble they cause...confidentially, she often laughs at the antics of Butch and his best buddy, Pops, a genuine, scrambling all over the place, especially all over But's back, squirrel...she is content with her world.

English is her favorite class due to the imaginative presentations  her teacher puts on to draw them in.

Life, is fine, and  pretty much what she expects it to be...until...

Today Alex's world along with that of her friend and companions is about to skid sideways. All four are literally swirled and spun this way and that before being dropped, body and soul into something like the world from her class story. The real world is QUITE different.

Danger lurks around every dust mote and truth is something she quickly learns her parents have been a bit shy in delivering.

The TREES are calling HER Princess!

What do you do when you discover your mother is the Queen of this here Realm, and you are its unknowing, but oddly familiar Princess? And your life and the lives of your friends is in mortal danger, thanks to your scheming Uncle with the confidence building name, Dread?  Somehow Uncle D. managed to traverse the boundaries between their worlds and scoop you into the Rock Realm for bait to draw your mother here and destroy you both! Life can get complicated sometimes.

Rock of Realm is a delightful, fast paced tale you want to, really, really want to be naughty and read ahead, but because it's so good, you don't. You read on, eager for every juicy moment, catch-phrase and antic of Alex's journey,

This is a book released from the Muse It Young side of Muse It Up Publishing, and it is a fantastic story that will enchant the young, and like me, not so young. I happily joined Alex as she learned the true depths of friendship, loyalty, and bravery while also learning what you see and hear may not really be what you're seeing and hearing.

I recommend this book to one and all. I am also delighted to award it and its gifted author, FIVE BLAZING STARS,

Well Done Lea Schizas, and thank you Muse It Young for bringing this tale out for the rest of us to enjoy. Five Stars to you too.

Learn more about Rock of Realm on its Muse It Up BUY Page.

The Role of MOM and CRITIC...How do they blend?

I am a Mom...yes me,

Lin (AKA L.J. Holmes)...of fellow author

KAT HOLMES.

I have been in love with my daughter since long before the hard work of birthing labor began.

I will not lie and say things are always copacetic between us, but I am one of the most fortunate women in the world to be blessed with this young woman as MY child.

Sara D. I think you know how close I am with Kat because the pictures I saw of you at our Muse Retreat with your daughter as your companion, and the stories those lucky enough to attend tell of your relationship make me believe you share the same closeness.

We will fight those that try to hurt them, and praise their successes, sometimes to excess...Which means many of you are going to think that is what I am doing here...but you'd be only half right.



As of this moment I am beginning a contest. Kat has created a world so rich and detailed, she has me sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for her to write the next chapter, and Book One,

FROZEN actually debuted last year.

Right now, she is writing Book Two, and I am slack-jawed by how talented she is...I assure you, I do not say this lightly. Nor am I this

over the moon about EVERYTHING she has written.

But Artica, her medieval land of perpetual ice and snow will, when the world starts reading it, become a classic series.


I just finished reading Chapter Seven of her manuscript for Book Two...and if I thought Book One was astounding, Book Two is leaving me breathless.

In Book One we meet Awni, the queen of Artica, learn of

Tichi the God of Artica, Elric, the closest thing Awni has to a father, and the Council.

We learn about loneliness that is stark, deep, and unavoidable...or is it?

We also are introduced to the

Artica Lights...pivotal masses of swirling magic...or something else, that are actually visible on the magnificent cover Muse It Up Publishing's

Queen Cover Art Goddess created for this book...although you'll have to look for them, so brilliantly did Delilah K. Stephans present them.

If you haven't read Frozen...oh my God, you are so missing a brilliantly crafted story...and trust me you are going to WANT to pickup where Frozen leaves off and Book Two begins.

Like Me, you are going to become an avid ARTICA aficionado.

For the next TWO weeks,

all comments left here will be in the running for one of TWO free copies of Kat's first book in this series FROZEN...and trust me, once you've walked around the deliciously cold but hotter than hot, land of Artica, you'll know The Artica Lights have swirled their magic your way too.

For more information about Artica, Artica Lights, and Awni, check out the sale page for
FROZEN.

To learn more about Kat Holmes, my incredibly brilliant Best Selling Author daughter, she can be followed on her WEBSITE and BLOG.

Jump on the Artica Lights Series Bandwagon NOW!

The contest will end on Saturday, January 17th and the Two gift copies sent on Sunday January 18th.

Never will winter feel so good!

On My Birthday a Reader's Praise Resonates

No review means more to me than the ones I get from the

readers of my stories. They are my barometer on how I am really doing...whether I am telling the story I mean to tell effectively.

I used to sit at the feet of my beloved Grandmother, Nonnie, when I was a child, in rapt awe of the stories she told. I also sat at the feet of two wonderful octogenerian women who lived two houses from mine, Katie Sickle and Mary Powers.

I so wanted to be able to tell stories with as much excitement as those three powerful women told them to little Lin.




It is an honor to post this e-mail from one my readers about two of my short stories. Especially today, my birthday.

Wendy L., thank you for taking the time to write this and let me know what you thought of my stories.

To the rest of you...Wendy worked hard to promote one of my recent releases on her launch party. Because of my own health issues, I could not attend, so Wendy jumped in and worked twice as hard on my behalf. To thank her, I purchased two of my own stories from the Muse Book Store and sent them to her.

Some of you are going to ask why I would purchase them since I have my author's copies...I am not the only one who has a stake in my stories, and each of them has a right to get their just portion of the sales.

Probably seems ridiculous when both stories are really small ones, but Delilah, my cover artist, Carrie and Tir, my editors, Lea and Litsa, my publishers deserve compensation for their contribution to my final release. I honor and respect every person that has a part in bringing me into the world of published author.

And now that I have bored you to tears with how it came to be my books were in the hands of Wendy, let me dive into the nearest dark shadow and give Wendy the floor.

Message body

DEAR LIN,
I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING YOUR 12 SHORT STORIES. (If you are interested in reading any of my 11/27 thru today stories, leave a comment telling me so.)

I read the two books you gave me and enjoyed them both. You write very well and built the tension in both so I read each one in one sitting.

In Beyond Yesterday, you made wonderful use of the wind. It became a character in its own rite and so did both houses. They were quite eerie in different ways. Both took on the 'personality' of their past. I still feel my foot on that rotten floor board and am relieved Pamela and I didn't fall through. What a shock her Grandmother  revealed about the past, but the resolution was quite satisfying. I was left pondering the story long after it ended and wondered what might have been.

The title is so apt and having read the story I now see so much more in the stunning cover, even down to the sepia tones and tarnished brass. It really is an amazingly accurate cover on many levels.

I remember the workmen and the coffee in Forever With You. Did you ask us to crit that small section? I know I did, or was it an exercise? (That was someone else asking about coffee for another group.)

Forever With You is a love story with all the sexual tension to make it real, a handsome couple we can sympathize with and a house to bring them together. So what is holding Coryne back from making a committment to Keith? The conundrum keeps us guessing and hoping, and the resolution is bitter sweet and unexpected. Most satisfying is the character of Coryne since she reveals a depth of true love we had not expected in her. Their story stayed with me after I closed the book and I marvelled at the quality of human nature, committment and relationships. The title says so much more to those who have read the book, and the cover I now see like pieces of a jig saw at sunset. Gives me goosebumps, it is so appropriate.


Thank you for sharing your books with me Lin.


Enjoy the rest of your birthday.
Wendy

 Me again! The covers, both done by Delilah Stephans give powerful proof why I do not try to interfere with her talent. She knocks my covers out of the ballpark with the very first mockup. I truly love her artisitc vision.

Thank you Wendy. Both stories are dear to me. I hoped the power I wanted to write into them came through. And thank you for holding onto this review until today, my birthday. It made me cry.