Alissa Johnson

Night Owl Reviews Top Pick

2011-12-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

12-5-11

After an extended battle with blogger, I am finally able to post--

An Unexpected Gentleman is a Top Pick at Night Owl Reviews! Favorite quote? “I loved this book.” Sometimes the simplest compliments are the most powerful.

An Unexpected Gentleman hits shelves tomorrow. Be sure to pick up your copy!

First Review of An Unexpected Gentleman

2011-10-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

An Unexpected Gentleman received a starred review from Publishers Weekly! Naturally, I couldn’t be happier. Look for the book December 6^th!

An A for Nearly A Lady

2011-08-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

8-1-11

Nearly A Lady received a DIK (Desert Isle Keeper) review over at All About Romance! As this is my first DIK (but hopefully not my last) I'll own up to being ridiculously pleased.

Author Spotlight at RT Book Reviews

2011-06-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

6/14/11

The title pretty much says it all.

RT Book Reviews kindly allowed me talk a bit about Nearly A Lady here, and share a new excerpt from the book here. Hope you enjoy!

A Little News

2011-06-11T05:12:00.000-07:00

June 11, 2011

Quick, fun interview up over at AuthorScoop! 5 Minutes Alone with Alissa Johnson. Check it out!

In other news, Nearly A Lady received 5 out of 5 hearts from Fiction Vixen Book Reviews, and Rakehell.com calls it an ". . .utterly charming book. . ."!

Finally, some of you may have noticed that the kindle edition of Nearly A Lady was (for reasons that baffle me) listed as The Square Root of Murder. I am happy to report that the error has has now been fixed. Huge thanks to everyone who reported the mix-up to Amazon. And here's a link to the real The Square Root of Murder by Ada Madison. I've added it to my TBR pile. The heroine is a math prof turned sleuth! Sounds like all kinds of awesome to me.

ETA 6/13 --It looks like ebook editions of Nearly A Lady are being downloaded with the correct content but with the title The Square Root of Murder. Huge apologies to my readers. I am trying to have this fixed.

Celebrating the Release of Nearly A Lady

2011-06-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

June 6, 2011

I'll be at The Good, the Bad and The Unread tomorrow, celebrating the official release of Nearly A Lady. Drop by to read my guest blog and exclusive excerpt from the book, and leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy!

At RomConInc. Today!

2011-05-31T04:52:00.000-07:00

5/31/11

Come join me at RomConInc.com today for a chance to win a copy of Nearly A Lady!

Guest Blog and Giveaway

2011-05-27T16:32:00.001-07:00

Join me for my guest blog at RomConInc. on May 31st, and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Nearly A Lady!

Nearly A Lady Reviews

2011-05-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

5/25/11

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be guest blogging around the web and giving away copies of Nearly A Lady. Be sure to check in for more details! Until then, how about a couple of lovely reviews from Publishers Weekly and Fresh Fiction.

New Cover Art!

2011-04-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

4/14/11

Cover art for An Unexpected Gentleman has arrived!

I am deeply, madly in love with the garden setting.

2011 RITA and Golden Heart Finalists

2011-04-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to this year’s RITA and Golden Heart Finalists. And a particular (albeit slightly belated) congrats to fellow Absolute Writer, Joanna Bourne, for the nomination of The Forbidden Rose in the Historical Romance category. Well done, Jo! For a complete list of nominations, you can visit RWA’s website.

Updated Cover

2011-02-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

Presenting the new, updated cover for Nearly a Lady, complete with blurb from the fabulous Jennifer Ashley.

Help an Author in Egypt

2011-02-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Olivia Gates, a resident of Egypt, has been cut off from the internet and can’t promote her new release. Stephanie Draven has asked for some aid in getting the word out for Olivia.

Help out an Egyptian author—post on facebook, your website, etc. the info below (taken from Stephanie’s website.)

To Tempt a Sheikh by Olivia Gates

He rescued hostage Talia Burke from his royal family’s rival tribe and swept her into his strong embrace. But Prince Harres Aal Shalaan soon discovered there was more to the brave beauty than he knew. Talia held information vital to protecting his beloved kingdom…and she had every reason not to trust him.

Marooned together at a desert oasis, Talia couldn’t resist Harres. Yet even as his sizzling seduction entranced her, his loyalty to his family and country would always make them enemies. Falling for the sheikh would be her heart’s greatest mistake…but she feared it was already too late….

In stores February 1!

Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders,Books A Million and bookstores everywhere.

To read a first chapter and visit Olivia’s webpage, click here.

Thanks to SBTB for bringing this to my attention.

Nearly A Lady Excerpt

2011-01-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

1/25/2011

Read an excerpt from Nearly a Lady! Coming June 7, 2011 from Berkley Sensation.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

12/21/10

It’s that time of year again – the season of snow, mistletoe, caroling, and for those who celebrate Christmas, the age old debate: Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?

I was raised in a Christmas Eve house.

Recently, a Christmas morning person asked me what my celebrations were like when I was a kid. And upon answering, I realized that little has changed over the years. The Johnson children are now grown, and not all of us can be together every year, but the habits we started as a young family have grown into a series of traditions that begin just as the sun sets.

They go something like this:

We turn on Christmas tunes. In my opinion, the Merry Christmas from Sesame Street album cannot be beat. But my mom is partial to instrumental music.

We eat spaghetti. Always.

The eldest child in attendance teases the others by eating second and third helpings as slowly as humanly possible.

We clean the dishes--my least favorite part of any night.

We take pictures in front of the tree. Half will turn out blurry, and the other half will involve blinking, rabbit ears, or a family pet streaking into the shot at the last second.

To distract them, we give the dogs Christmas rawhides and the cat a toy. The dogs will chew their treats into a nasty, nasty mess on someone’s bed. The cat will ignore the expensive present in favor of the box in which it arrived.

We choose which gifts to open first, and who will pass out those still under the tree—this traditionally falls to my dad.

The excitement builds.

Mom suddenly decides she needs more photos, this time of everyone holding presents. If she’s using a manual camera, another roll of film will have to be excavated from the depths of the office desk. If it’s digital, my little brother will have to show her how to make room on the memory card. Because I’m a technophobe.

Another round of photos ensues until the Christmas music can no longer be heard over the chorus of groans.

Finally, mom shows mercy. She sets the camera aside, we all settle in and get down to the business of unwrapping.

And so our Christmas Eve goes.

When I was a child, the evening was all about reaching that end goal of opening presents. But as an adult, I take the greatest pleasure in the traditions leading up to what used to be “the big event.” I still appreciate every thoughtfully purchased or hand-crafted gift, but it’s the experience, the memories, and even the goofy pictures I’ll treasure most.

I hope your celebrations this year are filled with as much joy.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Cover Art!

2010-11-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

Nearly A Lady has a cover!

Future Releases

2010-09-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Dorchester Publishing recently went all digital. Since then, I’ve noticed that Dorchester/Leisure titles have been going out of stock all over the place. So, if you’ve a mind to snatch some up, you might want to do so now.

For those readers who have asked what Dorchester’s move means for my future books--not to worry, my next historical romance will be released in mass market paperback by Berkley in June, 2011.

In other (and slightly late) news—Booklist very kindly gave me a spot in their list of New Stars of Historical Romance. I like to pretend the list isn’t alphabetical and I’m number 1, but then I glance down and see names like Joanna Bourne, Katherine Ashe, Meredith Duran and Tessa Dare, and remember it isn’t so.

RWA Conference

2010-08-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

8/2/2010

Congratulations to the 2010 Golden Heart and RITA winners! And a special congrats to the amazing Julia Quinn. Her RITA for What Happens in London earned her a spot in the RWA Hall of Fame. I wanted to shake her hand, but they were full.

Well done, Miss Quinn! You’re an inspiration.

In other RWA conference news--Fellow AWer Sandy James gave an absolutely fabulous, standing room only workshop on Saturday--Freud Knows Romance: Using Psychology to Empower Your Characters. If you’re a romance writer, I highly recommend getting the download from RWA as soon as it becomes available.

I hope to see everyone next year in NY!

Round of Applause

2010-07-18T05:35:00.000-07:00

7/18/2010

Congratulations to all the winners of the Reader’s Crown Awards!

In other news: The Czech translation of As Luck Would Have It is now available for order. What a pretty cover!

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

May 31

I hope everyone had a safe Memorial Day weekend, and took some time out of the fun and (hopefully) sun to remember those men and women who died in service to our country.

My grandmother recently sent a box of family photos to my mother. Included amongst them is a picture of my great-uncle Bobby posing at the family farm and wearing a crisp, white sailor’s uniform and the sweet, young smile of a teenage boy.

He was lost at sea on June 9th, 1944.

Thank you, Robert M. Lanthier.

RomConInc. Contest

2010-05-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

5/2/10

Congratulations to all the Reader's Crown finalists!

And a special shout out to my fellow A Christmas Ball authors, Jennifer Ashley and Emily Bryan. Jennifer's The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie is up for Best Long Historical, and Emily's My Lady Below Stairs is up for Best Novella.

Well done, ladies!

A Nomination for Tempting Fate!

2010-03-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

3/29/10

I am thrilled to announce that Tempting Fate is a up for a RITA® in the Regency Historical Romance category.

What an honor to share the nomination with Tessa Dare, Carolyn Jewel, Caroline Linden, Kate Noble, Julia Quinn and Elizabeth Rolls.

For a list of all RITA and Golden Heart finalists, click here.

Congratulations to all!

Winners and Another Giveaway!

2010-03-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

3/15/10

Congratulations to Heather Sands and Cassondra Murray, winners of the book giveaway at the RomConInc. Historical Romance blog!

Be sure to join me Tuesday, March 16th, at the Night Owl Romance blog for another chance to win a book from my backlist!

2010-03-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

3/8/10

Join me tomorrow (March 9th) for my guest blog at RomConInc. I'll be giving away a couple books from my back list to two commenters!

Announcement

2010-02-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

2/23/10

I am delighted to announce the sale of my historical romance, Nearly a Lady, to Berkley. A very big thanks to my agent, Emmanuelle Alspaugh!

A release date has not been set yet, but that doesn't mean it will be a long wait until my next book hits the shelves. Destined to Last, the fourth book in the Providence series, will be out March 30th!

First Post

2010-02-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

Feb. 9th, 2010

Welcome!

This blog is just getting off the ground. Check back soon for news, interviews, and give aways!