Hello, and welcome back! I hope you're all getting in more reading time now that the weather is getting cooler, and especially since there are so many great new books out.

Anyone going to the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention next month? There's still time to sign up for that, and I'd love to get to meet some of you. There'll be tons of workshops for readers and writers alike. If you're interested in more info, email me, and I'll put you in touch with the right people.

Well, first up this week is an author I wish was more prolific, Maggie Osborne. Her latest historical is Bride of Willow Creek(Ballantine). She always has a knack for putting characters into situations many other authors wouldn't be able to make work, and then she makes you cheer for them. This new one is no exception, with Angie Bertoli gone off to find her husband Sam Holland, who'd left her ten years ago. Now she wants a divorce but has to find him first, in a small mining town out west. The Sam she loved has grown into a man she doesn't know, and who has two small daughters with another woman. I love this story and am giving it four of Cupid's five arrows. Maybe she'll write the daughters' stories someday....?

Another favorite author's new book is out: Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne (Jove). Detective Vince O'Malley is forced to take some time off work after two missing children turn up dead. While continuing his investigation "unofficially," he meets Holly Newman, whose sister was killed in the same manner long ago. Ms. Shayne has a real talent for keeping you on the edge of your seat while you wait for the bad guys to get what's coming to them. Vince and Holly are great, and you know that together they have to succeed in their quest to save another missing child. Another four arrows here.

Finally, we have the latest from the queen, Nora Roberts: Midnight Bayou (Putnam). You've all heard me rave about her characters, and Declan Fitzgerald and Lena Simone are no exceptions. Dec has left behind in Boston all the parts of his life that left him feeling, well, unfeeling, and moved to New Orleans to restore a house he's been drawn to for years. Lena's grandmother lives next door, and her family has ties to the house, too. This is one of those books that's going to make the aspiring authors either cry or try harder again, because Ms. Roberts has managed to tie together her great suspense and believable characters with just a touch of the paranormal for a fast-paced read. Make sure when you start it that you have a large block of uninterrupted time, and that you leave some lights on. I'm giving this one four and a half arrows.

Until next week, happy reading!