I'm not one to gush...

Especially about a historical. I've nothing against them but my cuppa usually runs along the steamy paranormal or military/romantic suspense line. Now Anne Gallagher has me hooked on her Reluctant Grooms series.

I first read A Wife For Winsbarren (only a 99 cent read), and you can see my review for that novella here on Amazon. Then a couple of days ago, I read The Lady's Fate until the wee hours of the morning because I couldn't put it down. My favorite aspect about this book is the way Anne develops a beautiful, sweet relationship between the hero and heroine without in any way, shape or form diminishing the love the hero had for his deceased wife. Yes, there were a few times I wanted to knock him on the head and tell him to wake up, but I didn't need to worry because Anne did it for me. Honestly, I haven't enjoyed a historical series this much since I read Pamela Clare's historicals. As Pamela writes an unusual era, you may tell that I prefer historicals with something different to offer. Anne told me she currently has a novella entitled A Husband For Miss Trent available for free download for a limited time on Smashwords. Can't get better than free! But I have to warn you, if you enjoy characters not cut from a cookie-cutter, you might get hooked on her writing style like I did.

In other news, I have officially decided to test my mettle with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge in which bloggers post the alphabet every day in April minus Sundays. I heard about this challenge via one of my favorite bloggers (and I'm sure you'll love him, too), Alex J. Cavanaugh. Who else could have started this craziness but Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out? Sign ups begin on January 30, and such early notice gives you plenty of time to create a plan of attack. So who's up for this? I have to say challenges like this are a great way to meet new bloggers.

Okay, I really love blogfests, and I've been eager to dive in again. So I found Cassie May's Valentine's Day blog hop, Is It Getting Hot In Here. Yes, a kissing scene--hey, that should be right up my alley, right? Well, I got excited about it and then reviewed my WIPs for something appropriate. To my dismay, all of my writing was too racy for public display. I think I might have to post a sufficiently censored version, lol. Thank you Roland Yeomans for the referral!

Aaaaaaannnd I see I've gotten quite link-happy with this post. How about you? Any links or good stuff going on around the blogosphere you'd like to share? Workshops or contests? Blogfests you're participating in or hosting?