HAPPY NEW YEAR !

In this time of rejoicing, I want to send special thoughts to the real girls with guns. I write fiction, but never forget that real women actually put their lives on the line every day to insure our peace and our freedom.

I salute you, unsung kick-butt heroines of our everyday lives. We are proud of you and honored by your courage and sacrifice. your example makes us better people, and we are grateful.

May the year 2009 bring the resolution of the world's main conflicts, and may the soldiers of tomorrow guard and protect a more peaceful world.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning Sci-Fi, Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

Get yourself A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS
http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com

Girls with Guns rule

Starting with Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, who said a girl with guns couldn't be sexy? And no, it's not Angelina on my banner or on the cover of my novel Anaz-voohri. I know it looks like her, but it's not.

This said, I wish it were... Now if you like this kind of adventure coupled with a romantic plot, you'll love my novels. Never a dull moment. Just in time for the holidays, A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS also features a girl with a gun.

Fall angel reviews gave this story a four-angel rating. They said:
"Along with a story of love and hope, A Desperado for Christmas packs a pretty exciting adventure tale ... There is very little “down time” in this fast-paced story, and this reader was glued to it until the very end."

And Coffee Time Romance says: "...The reader can really empathize with her character on many levels. Ms. Schartz also does a fantastic job of setting you right in the scene with her characters. She builds the suspense and follows through with vigor, sweeping her readers up in the action."

So don't delay, get yourself A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS. Everyone deserves a little romantic adventure for Christmas.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Vijaya Schartz
Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS is available at:
http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com
also at All Romance eBooks
and at Mobypocket
and other reputable ebook sites

and on Amazon.com in Kindle format at:
http://www.amazon.com/A-Desperado-For-Christmas/dp/B001KUOOTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229883255&sr=1-1

CONTEST - THE HUNK HUNT with Sapphire Blue

HELP! The Sapphire Blue Bombshells have lost their favorite hunks in the pages of their websites, and they need your help. The publisher, Sapphire Blue, is offering all kinds of yummy rewards, including ebooks, gift certificates, and t-shirts, if you can retrieve these precious men. So check out the contest at:

http://www.eroticromancewriters.com/bombshells/

GOOD HUNTING, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Vijaya Schartz
Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

get yourself A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS
http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com

Girls with Guns

I finally pinpointed the common denominator for all my novels. At least most of them. I've been writing Science-fiction, romance, even medieval stories, and now I have a contemporary suspense. So what gives?

It came after looking at my most recent book covers. Most of them feature a fearsome girl with a gun. I already adopted Romance with a Kick as my tag line, referring to my kick-butt heroines. But when I realized all my girls had guns (or their period equivalent, some have swords, too) I had an epiphany. That was the elusive link between all my seemingly unrelated novels in different genres. They all featured strong heroines, often in uniform, carrying a lethal weapon, preferably a gun. Sometimes the gun is a high tech laser gun, or a pulveriser, but it's always a deadly weapon.

Of course, girls with guns have a difficult time finding the right mate, and that's where my romantic plot gets challenged. What kind of man is strong enough to tame a girl with a gun? Or smart enough to love her without being competitive?

I guess that's an issue I have been confronting all my life, as a strong woman myself. I call myself a daredevil, am a Martial Arts black belt, skydive, go down the rapids in rafts, without blinking an eye. And I guess we write about what we know, so that's the kind of women I like to write.

So, sue me.

The damsel in distress has come a long way, and strong heroines are here to stay.

Halleluya! Long live girls with guns.

Vijaya Schartz

Award-winning sci-fi,

Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Win my book of your choice

If you didn't win A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS in my last contest, don't despair. This novella is now available for download for $3.50 at http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com/

And if you can answer three easy questions about this story, you can win any of my paperback releases. Check out the list of books you can win by clicking on the covers at:

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/contest.html

So, get yourself A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS. After all, you deserve it. And you could win either:

Anaz-voohri,

Relics

Lockdown

Ashes for the Elephant God

Archangel Crusader

Archangel Checkmate

Good luck in the contests and keep reading.

Vijaya Schartz

Award-winning Sci-Fi,

Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

MY DESPERADO IS OUT OF THE BAG

If you didn't win it in my contest, don't despair. A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS is out today and you can download the ebook for $3.50 at: http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com/

It's not your typical night on the Arizona Border. With Kaitlin as a kick-butt heroine with a gun, and Miguel, a gorgeous Desperado with many secrets, it's a romantic, suspenseful story, with all the holiday trimmings. Kaitlin may not be able to handle her desperado... Dangers are everywhere, adventure is in the crisp December air, and on this magical night, anything can and will happen.

Check it out, with an excerpt at the publisher site.
More about this story, and another excerpt on my website at http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Get yourself A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS and enjoy the holidays.

Vijaya Schartz
Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayascharts.com/

AWARDS DAY - AWARDS NIGHT

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Today's guest author is Tina Lavon, author of LIQUID HYPNOSIS

Will DEA agent, Samantha Garrett find the missing scientist before Liquid Hypnosis can be used to kill again? Will her attraction to his brother, the doctor hiding his own secrets, prove to be her downfall?

Liquid Hypnosis - by Tina LaVon - ISBN# 1-60154-123-6
Available through Barnes and Noble

Visit her website at: http://www.suspensebytina.com/

Here is an excerpt of LIQUID HYPNOSIS, a thriller that is collecting nominations and awards as well as five-star reviews.


He leaned in so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. She held her breath, waiting for his next move.
“Better than good,” he whispered. He played with a strand of her hair, then ran his thumb along her cheek to her chin. “Samantha...”
“Yes.” It took all her strength not to tremble.
“I’d kiss you, but I’m afraid you’d arrest me.” He stepped back, his smile teasing.
Samantha could feel someone watching her. Looking toward the nightclub, she found Malone standing by the entrance. Apparently, he needed to see for himself that she was all right. She waved him off. He nodded and retreated back inside.
“Kevin,” Samantha whispered.
“What?” His grin told her he knew what she wanted, but he was going to make her ask.
Samantha leaned against the car, hoping to achieve the same air of cockiness he’d displayed. She raked him with an appreciative look. The man had a body that was both broad and muscular. She instinctively knew they would fit perfectly together.
“I’ll arrest you if you don’t kiss me.
He placed his lips as close to hers as he could without touching, still waiting for her to make the first move.
“Do I intimidate you?” she asked.
“Do I intimidate you?”
“No,” she lied.
He gently brushed the side of his face against hers and her knees grew weak.
“Are you afraid of me?” he asked, trapping her by placing both hands against the car.
“No.”
“Then why are you breathing heavy?”

AT LAST A BOOK COVER

Dont' you love it? A girl with a gun and a hunk, my favorite combination. I've always liked spunky girls, and this one wears the uniform of a Border Patrol Agent on the Arizona Border on Christmas Eve.

Just in time for the holidays, the release date is November 10, 2008. Two weeks to go, and I can't wait...

The story has all the trimmings of a holiday tale, with suspense and wild creatures. I always have cats in my stories, whether a tame house pet or like in A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS a wild mountain lion. I even have alien monster cats in my sci-fi books.

This one is a contemporary romance full of suspense and plot twists, the kind I love to read.

Check it out for more information and an excerpt on my official website:
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

In the meantime, you can also enter the contest to win this book on my site as well. Just click on CONTEST on the left on my main page.

Wishing you all a great Halloween.

Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning Sci-Fi & Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS

Just in time for the holidays, my story A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS is coming in November from Sapphire Blue Publishing. Here is a taste of what the story is about:

Rookie Border Patrol Agent Kaitlin Harrington hates Christmas and all men, since her lover jilted her, and she lost her unborn child on Christmas Eve. This year, she guards the Mexican border in southern Arizona, but little does she know that her life is about to change forever. No amount of training prepared Kaitlin to arrest the gorgeous desperado who challenges her. His name is Miguel, and on this dangerous adventure through the Arizona desert, on the most magical of nights, anything can and will happen...

Will let you know when I know more.

Vijaya Schartz

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Anaz-voohri is a finalist.

Anaz-voohri is a finalist in the 2008 Golden Quill Awards. I am thrilled.

Imagine a mix of X-Files and Battlestar Galactica, with a Monster drink, and Romance

After witnessing the abduction of his baby sister, to find her, Zack joins a dark world of covert operations, under Tia Vargas, a reckless Amazon with a deadly secret. But where their mission leads, the faint-hearted should not follow. Neither Zack nor Tia are ready for what they discover, and the farther they go, the more it becomes clear that what’s behind the scenes could spell the end of the human race…

"An epic novel of enduring love despite Herculean obstacles and extraterrestrial intrigues. I was caught up from the first sentence... I adored this book." 5-stars - Coffee Time Romance

Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning Sci-Fi & Romance with a kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

San Francisco was a blast

just returned from the National Conference of Romance Writers of America in San Francisco. What a thrill. Not only the city is enchanting with its old European charm, but the event itself gathered over 2,000 writers. The Literacy book signing alone had 520 authors in one room, including Nora Robert and a slew of NYT best-selling authors. I'm on the right, next to Laurie Schnebly and the next author starting with an "S" Melissa Schroeder. I can now say I was signing my books along with Nora Roberts in the same room at the same time, and I still sold my Golden Quill Award-winning book, Anaz-voohri, and chatted with many personal fans.

Of course, I met with editors and agents. That's the main purpose of those professional conferences, but I also donned a glitzy gown for the Awards Banquet.

Romantic Times was a smashing success

Just back from the Romantic Times Convention in Pittsburgh, my head is still swimming with the whirlwind of events that took place there. Beside worskhops for writers and readers, rubbing shoulders with agents and editors, meeting fans (what a thrill), signing my books (I sold out), there were also all the parties and fancy balls. A rare opportunity to wear ball gowns and costumes.

I am at the bottom right, kneeling in the glittery turquoise gown.

Here is the link to the videos of the Faery Ball, of which I was a sponsor. The first one is the presentation of the authors, and the second is part of the costume contest. ENJOY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTmqDTBi4Kg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMcvCMRP50A

Vijaya Schartz
Sci-Fi Romance with a kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/