I just love wonderful news. Everybody go and congratulate Amy Knupp on her sale to Superromance. Let’s hope it generates a whole bunch of first sales!
(She needs to send one my way from Mills & Boon Historicals–hint, hint!).
Go, Amy!
:crazyjumping:
Normally I don’t read category romance because I like big, juicy historicals with hunky muscled heroes and feisty heroines. But I did pick up The Beast Within by Suzanne McMinn the other day, and if you’re looking for a fast-paced, suspenseful and emotional read, check this one out!
One of the things I love about Suzanne’s books is the evocative prose. The language captures the emotional tone of the story. She really engages your senses and you’re not only enjoying the characters, but you feel like you’re there. In one of the opening scenes of Beast, she describes the setting of Callula Island, the hiding place of the hero.
“It was a strange, almost post-apocalyptic atmosphere of slash pine growth born of the disruptive force of fire and hurricanes that occasionally recreated the barrier island habitat. Shade-tolerant hardwood reached up within the pines, slowly taking over the swampy wood with hauntingly romantic palmettos and live oaks strung with creeper vines and Spanish moss.
The maritime jungle was so thick, the canopy of leaves cloaked the sky, and it was preternaturally shadowed, a world of endless twilight and unknowable sounds. Paige carefully hiked a grid pattern through the woods, mindful of the approaching weather…and the eerie sensation of being watched”
When I read writing like this, it takes me out of the everyday world of mopping floors and children screaming, “Mommy, watch me!” I can slip into a world of a hunky hero with super abilities and his haunted dream of reuniting with his estranged wife. It’s not just a fun, suspenseful book–it’s quality writing, and I appreciate that. 
And yes, I had to grab my dictionary and look up preternaturally. I should have paid more attention in English class to those pesky vocabulary words. :loser: One of the things I love is the perfect descriptive word. It’s why I now have a thesaurus chained to my side whenever I write. 
