Centurion & Queen Being Release in E-Book April 1st!

Just found out last night that The Centurion & The Queen is now being released on Tuesday, April 1st in e-book form. Paperback will be out later this month (finger crossed for April 15th) but the e-book will be available for download on Tuesday!!!! (SEE BLURB & EXCERPTS HERE)

So in celebration, I'm giving away another Centurion Helmet thimble AND a gladius key chain (see pictures below) along with three copies of the e-book version of The Centurion & The Queen. All you have to do is go to www.minnettemeador.com and sign up for my mailing list.

Yikeee!!! I'm so excited about my very first romance I'm going to be doing the hoochie dance all day long - ~hoochie~ ~hoochie~ ~hoochie~

The Centurion & The Queen

I just realized I don't have a blurb for C&Q on my blogsite...so, here it is with a link to a couple of excerpts...

EXCERPT LINK

THE CENTURION & THE QUEEN
Marius has been stationed on the island of 60AD Britannia for sixteen years, his demotion from the famous Praetorian Guard to Centurion brought about when he was suspected of involvement in the assassination of Caligula. Once a celebrated Roman hero, Marius still clings to the old traditions as a fair but tough leader to his men.

Delia is sister to an indolent Breton king, but that role has turned to nothing more than another surrender. All she can do now is help her people survive the gradual conquest by Rome and their suicidal pride as so many throw themselves against the unstoppable Roman machine.

Just as they are discovering an impossible love, they are forced apart, and thrown into the clash between an Iceni queen and a clever Roman general. Marius and Delia have their lives, their beliefs, and their roles turned inside out as they find themselves fighting on opposing sides, in love, and unable to change the future. The revolution would spark their desire, but nearly destroy them both.

Breton & General Now Placed with Resplendence

Just signed my contract yesterday with Resplendence for the sequel to The Centurion & The Queen - THE BRETON & THE GENERAL will be released with Resplendence later this year...watch for details...Here's the blurb:

THE BRETON and THE GENERAL
By Minnette Meador
(Sequel to The Centurion & The Queen)

The Boudicca revolt has been squelched, the tribes of the Iceni and the Trinovantes exterminated by the Roman Governor of Britannia, Suetonius. He has sworn his revenge on the remaining tribes for the Celtic insolence.

Marius and Delia are now King and Queen of a broken Celtic tribe. Using his twenty-five years as a Roman Centurion, Marius has to use all his skill and cunning to help his hunted people as they flee before General Suetonius' sword. Reluctantly donning the mask of the liberatio mysticus, the “phantom” that hides the scattered tribes, the couple recruits Marius' ex-Roman century and what few Celtic warriors that remain to face the deadly Roman machine. They struggle to keep their people together and the rest of a nation from fading into history.

Marius and Delia are threatened by secret plots, jealousy, and a new enemy that hammers a wedge between them, which even an unborn child may not be able to dislodge when Marius falls under the charms of Delia's sworn enemy. Sacrifices will have to be made to save their people, to keep the nation together, to survive the Roman rage. In the end, it may be more than their love or their lives they lose.

The Centurion & The Queen

The cover is now official! Being released April 2008...~GRIN~

Passing of a great man...

Arthur C. Clarke was a great man...he touched our hearts and our imaginations like no one else and brought the voice of plausibility to a genre that had a hard time standing on its own two feet back in the day. My husband and I were weaned on his books. We looked forward to his soft, sweet voice in the many TV documentaries he was involved with. 2001 and 2010 have been next to our various players in every technological innovation, from beta, to VHS, to DVD, to electronic...his books sit abused, curled, and dog-eared on our shelves, lovingly read over and over again. He has lived in our home longer than our children and we bow our heads to his greatness.

You will be missed, gentle soul.

Starsight's First Book Signing...

Yesterday I went to my very first book signing at Books By The Bay in North Bend, Oregon (right next to Coos Bay, Oregon, for those of you who would know such a thing). It went great! We sold all of our books and the wonderful store owner, Trish, will be stocking Starsight in the store. I had a few friends show up and made a few more (including one very nice young man named William, who tells me, at ten, that he is quite an advanced reader...I did not doubt it at all!). We had a great time and stayed about an hour after the 3pm deadline. The store is beautiful (with a FABULOUS coffee shop, to boot!) and one of the best selection of books...I was in heaven, to say the least. North Bend is on the south coast of Oregon and I actually lived there several years ago...the people are some of the kindest on the planet. The "old" and new friends made this day very special for my husband and I...you guys really are the best!

Anyway, getting ready for my next one on the south coast at Winter River Books in Bandon, Oregon (one of the most enchanted places in the world!) on March 29th.

~Exhausted, dreaming, and sighing at the moon~ Thank you Books by The Bay...you made my weekend spectacular! Minnette :)

CUP OF COMFORT FOR SINGLE MOMS

A Cup of Comfort for Single Moms, edited by Colleen Sell and published by Adams Media, has been released and is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other fine book stores. I was very fortunate to get invited to contribute to this wonderful look at the women who do it all. Here is a small excerpt...book signings are coming up in the Oregon area and I will annouce those separately.

"To this day, I couldn’t tell you what woke me that Sunday morning. Despite claims to the contrary in studies and countless books on child development, the thing that frightens parents most—more than midnight calls from the hospital, swan dives from the roofs of pickup trucks, or locked bathroom doors—is the sound of absolute silence wherever one or more children are near but out of sight. I knew instantly something was terribly wrong as my parental extra-sense went into overdrive.

“Boys?” I called tentatively, my heart racing and the silence making my ears ache. It’s amazing how quickly adrenaline can get you going in the morning; coffee is a weak second-rater, if you ask me.

I got out of bed, grabbed my robe, stubbed my foot on the nightstand just for laughs, and then knocked over the double-crossing baby monitor. That’ll teach ya!"

Help Barb Celebrate...

Please see the note from Barb Vey at Publisher's Weekly about her celebration. Barb has been a friend to authors worldwide and she needs our support. Thanks! Minnette :)

To all the wonderful people I've met in the past year....

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of writing my Beyond Her Book blog. I know, I can't believe it's been a year already. So, I'm planning an online party to include lots of giveaways.

In a couple of weeks I'll be in New York talking to the bigwigs at PW about my "success" online and I'd like to blow them away with numbers. So I'm asking everyone I know to send out messages to have everyone and their uncles to read and/or post a comment to the blog on Friday (tomorrow) to try and hit record numbers. Anything you can do to help would be much appreciated.

I'd really like to send the message that a place is needed and wanted to talk about all kinds of books in general and romance specifically.

With my undying gratitude,

Barbara
--
Barbara Vey
Contributing Editor
Publishers Weekly
Beyond Her Book blog
www.publishersweekly.com/blog/880000288.html
MySpace
www.myspace.com/barbaravey

The Centurion & The Queen

Just found out yesterday that The Centurion & The Queen (new title, by the way) is slated to come out as a print book in April & I should have a new book cover any day now (I'll update this when it comes)! I'm so excited, since originally I thought it was coming out as an e-book and would go to print later. Blessed are the wonderful ladies at Resplendence! Jess is going to try to get it done by Romantic Times Convention, so that means it will be available for ordering by then. Whoohoo! Watch for more to come....:)

Starsight Featured on Write Life Blog

Starsight is being featured on the Write Life Blog - Take a look and leave a comment for Andrea and Corrina when you get a chance - Great site! Minnette

STARSIGHT
by Minnette Meador
Available from Stonegarden Publishing,
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders
and other fine on-line book distributors

Minnette Meador
My worlds . . . real or imagined
Minnette's Web Site
Minnette's Myspace
Rome-Antic Worlds - Yahoo Group
STARSIGHT, VOL. I - March 2008
STARSIGHT, VOL. II - November 2008
www.stonegarden.net
THE CENTURION & THE QUEEN - April 2008
www.resplendencepublishing.com
CUP OF COMFORT FOR SINGLE MOMS (contribution) -
Available now from Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Borders
and other fine bookstores
www.cupofcomfort.com

Minnette Meador Newsletter – Issue #1

Hello, all – Here is the premier edition of the Minnette Meador Newsletter for March 2008 (below is one without graphics for my modem friendly friends), letting everyone know what’s in the works and what’s coming up.

All hail to the venerable Muse…may her nails be ever crimson, may her influence never fail. Minnette