I am writing from Atlanta where I am attending the Romance Writers of America annual convention. Atlanta is hot and sticky enough to ensure that I will wear all of the clothes I brought with me as I seem to be changing three times a day. This convention is one where fashion gets as much discussion as writing and books. There is shoe chatter, jewelry chatter and most conversations do start with ---- "you look great!" before "what are you working on?"

I spent part of the time at ThrillerFest in Phoenix a few weekends ago reading THE MEPHISTO CLUB by Tess Gerritsen. Tess and I have gotten to know each other these past few years, and as I was sitting in the pool reading (literally IN the pool with the book propped up on the side of the pool) I kept looking up to see if she was walking by. I imagine for an author it's quite interesting (most say it's disconcerting) to watch someone reading your book. I finished it a few days later in Colorado and once again it's pure Gerritsen, full of blood, spine-tingling scenes and moments that will have you checking the doors. Here's a bit...a woman is found dead and above her head in Latin are the words, "I have sinned." Ready to be thrilled? Tess is our latest Suspense/Thriller author and we have 20 copies of THE MEPHISTO CLUB to give away to 20 readers who are interested in reading and commenting. Interested? Then send your name and email address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, August 4th.

Last week I attended the International Christian Retailing Show in Denver. It's a terrific time to visit with authors that I know --- and meet new ones --- as well as plan out the upcoming months of FaithfulReader.com. I had the pleasure of attending the Christy Awards a week ago Saturday to kick off my time at this event. As fiction is a particular passion of mine, I enjoyed this opportunity to see Christian fiction honored. You can see the full roster of award winners here, and in the months to come, we plan to bring you excerpts from these award-winning titles. We also have links to the winners of the Christian Book Awards, formerly known as the Gold Medallion Awards. Both the 2006 winners and the runners-up are now up on the site. These lists provide some inspirational --- and entertaining --- reading for summer and beyond.

I got back last night from my biz/vaca/biz trip to Phoenix, the mountains of Colorado and Denver. As I was walking through downtown Denver the other night I was wishing that publishing was headquartered there instead of New York, so I could live there. I love that part of the country. There is something about the colors, the light and the sky that invigorate me.