Hug A Dragon... Read a Book

In honor of Appreciate a Dragon Day and Don't Hex with Texas by Shanna Swendson (see post below), I updated my Yahoo Avatar in the sidebar. Now it's your turn, adopt a dragon and while you're at it, go read Shanna's books. :)

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Don't Hex with Texas by Shanna Swendson

Song Stuck on the Brain: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Katalina (Simply Irresistible Soundtrack)

Yay! I finally found time to read Shanna Swendson's latest, Don't Hex with Texas. It's book four in the Katie Chandler series and it was as fantastic as I expected it to be. I love that there is a never ending supply of surprises in these books. Just when you think you have something figured out, boom! Here comes a new twist. Plus, you just can't beat Katie's sense of humor or her taste in men. Owen Palmer is the hottest mix of bad boy/boy next door/Most Powerful Man on Earth/Mr. Sensitive that I've ever read. My only fault with him is that he's a little on the short side. But I'm sure that if I ever met him in person, I'd gladly forgive him this minor flaw. Especially if he invited me to summon the wee people with him down by the river. (And if you don't know what that means... READ THE BOOK!)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Just so you know what you're missing, here's a summary.

"Katie Chandler has fled fast-paced Manhattan and returned home to a simpler life, working at her family’s feed-and-seed store in Cobb, Texas. Leaving the sexy wizard Owen Palmer to battle his demons in the magical realm may have been a selfless gesture—after all, Katie seemed to attract evil, which only made Owen's job a lot harder—but now it seems like trouble has followed her home. And despite the fact that Merlin, Katie’s old boss at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., has assured her that Cobb is free of enchantment, magically speaking, Katie begins to notice curious phenomena.

Soon Cobb is being plagued by a series of unexplainable petty crimes and other devilish mischief, and after her experiences in Manhattan, Katie knows "unauthorized magic" when she sees it. As this new dark magic strikes deep in the heart of Texas, Owen appears (literally) to investigate. Now Katie’s friends and family must show the bad guys why it’s bad luck to hex with Texas, while Katie and Owen combine their strengths like never before to uncover a sinister plot before evil takes root in the lone star state."

Now, I am extremely anxious to see book five, and the fastest way to make that happen, is to get the first four flying off the shelves faster than a spell gone wrong. So I'm encouraging you all to go buy this series. I know I've raved about Shanna's work in the past, but just in case you missed all that and want to see it, here are the links. You can read all about the first three books in my review here. For more on the Fabulous Ms. Swendson, visit her website or blog. She's very entertaining.

More about The Fabulous Shanna

I'm still just so psyched about Shanna Swendson's new book Damsel Under Stress, that I have to share more fun info with you.

About Shanna:

Once upon a time ...

A little girl learned to amuse herself by making up stories in her head. She turned everyday activities into exciting adventures, and she made up new adventures for characters from her favorite movies, TV shows and books. Then one day she realized that if she wrote down those stories, she'd have a book! But that was crazy, she thought. Real people don't become novelists. That was like deciding you were going to be a movie star. You couldn't just go and do it.

But, it turns out, you can, and she did. She realized her dream of becoming a novelist and seeing her stories in bookstores.

And then she started to wig herself out by writing about herself in the third-person.

This is her story.... Read the rest of Shanna's bio.

While reading Shanna's blog, I found links to some more creative interviews.

Read Shanna's guest blog and advice to writers at Dragon Quill.

Read an interview with MSI's Security Chief Sam the Gargoyle at Power Purl Girl.

Learn who might win in a showdown between Evil Mimi and Voldemort on the Forum That Must Not Be Named.

I'm telling you, if you have even the smallest interest in books by J.K. Rowling, Mary Jo Putney, Janet Chapman, Shana Abe, Karen Marie Moning or just Fairytale/Fantasy in general, you're going to love this series. Okay, although Janet Chapman and Karen Marie Moning both write romantic fantasy/magic stories, they aren't nearly as PG as Shanna is, but in my book that's actually a really big plus on Shanna's side.

If anyone else finds a fun post about Shanna and her books, leave me a link in the comments section. I'd love to see it.

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Damsel Under Stress by Shanna Swendson

YAY!!! (Doing Snoopy's happy dance) Shanna Swendson's latest book Damsel Under Stress is in stores today. Even better, I got lucky and my pre-ordered book arrived three days early. I finished it last night and let me tell ya... I'm on pins and needles now for the next one.

Shanna's first book Enchanted, Inc. introduced us to Katie. A girl from Texas trying to make it in New York City without killing her boss, Evil Mimi. New York City is just a strange town, and that surely explained all the weird stuff she was seeing - like people with wings, right? Wrong! Katie learns that magic is real and she's an immune. A rare gift that allows her to be completely immune to magic, spells and enchantments. Soon she's leaving Evil Mimi behind for a new job with MSI, a magic company led by Merlin himself. She's also finding a whole new group of friends. Owen, the shy, super powerful wizard, that's hotter than a movie star. Trix and Ari, fun and flirty Fairy's (turns out those wings are real.) and Sam the gargoyle, head of Security. It's a wild new world where Katie learns her normal-ness is actually a great gift.

Once Upon Stilettos follows up with another fantastic and funny romp through Manhattan. A touch of romance and a whole lot of intrigue follow Katie and Owen as try to find the mole as MSI that is bent on turning Magic Evil and taking over the world. Trouble is, the bad guys have found a way to remove Katie's Immunity, leaving her susceptible to a fantastic pair of enchanted red stilettos.

Damsel Under Stress finds Katie and Owen making the break from friends to couple. Or at least trying. A clueless Fairy Godmother, An evil Wizard, a vindictive Fairy and more are determined to disrupt any chance they have at a normal date. Danger follows them everywhere they turn with both comical and suspenseful results.

My Take:

I love this series. Wait, let me try that again... I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES. Shanna has quickly become one of my favorite writers. Not only because she's a good writer, but because she's a good writer with fantastic stories. I also think she has a little magical ability herself, because somehow she got into my brain, found the file marked "Perfect Man" and created Owen just for me. :) The books are creative mesh of fantasy, chick lit and modern day fairy tale. What more could you ask for?

Umm, the next book please?

How about a movie contract for Ms. Swendson?

How awesome would that be? I'd love to see a movie series made just like they've done for the Harry Potter books. I can see it so clearly....

In the mean time... what are you waiting for? Go get these books! Then be sure to let me know what you think of them.

For more fun stuff visit Shanna's blog for news, read an Interview with Heroine Katie Chandler, and read an interview with Shanna herself.

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