I now have a friend to keep me company in my office. Her name is Cupid (she came with the name, but I think it’s appropriate for a romance writer to have a dog named Cupid.).

She’s a bit shy and unsure at the moment, but she really is a sweet girl. And she’s taken to sleeping under the printer desk in my office, right behind my chair.

(oops, why is that picture sideways? I’ll have to ask the Geek how to fix…)  Since she likes it under there, I need to put down a blanket or something for her, but I can’t keep her out of there long enough to do it.

I’m sure there will be many updates and photos of her on my Facebook page in the future. 🙂

If you’re looking for a pet, remember to check your local shelters. Lots of love just waiting there. (I also like PetFinder.com.)

And many thanks to the Greater Huntsville Humane Society for letting Cupid come home with me.

I’m a Southern Girl, born and bred, but it hit 100+ way too early this summer and stayed there far too long.  Even this Steel Magnolia is wilting in the heat.  (I like my really steamy heat in books, thankyouverymuch.)

July is RWA conference month — I give it its own month because it takes so long for me to prepare for it (oh, the wardrobe decisions!).  The festivities kick off in Anaheim, CA on July 25th with the Literacy For Life book signing.  Over 400 authors will be signing at the Anaheim Convention Center and every last cent goes to ProLiteracy Worldwide and local literacy programs.  The publishers donate the books, so the full sale price of the book is donated — not just a portion of the profits.  Since 1990, RWA has raised over $716,000 through this annual event.  I hope you’ll join us there!

2012 “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing

Wednesday, July 25, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Anaheim Convention Center, Ballroom (third floor)

http://www.rwa.org/cs/literacy_autographing

Proceeds from book sales go to ProLiteracy Worldwide, Read Orange County, and Literacy Volunteers—Huntington Valley.

No outside books are allowed in the event.

Try to stay cool, y’all!

Squee!!!

Amazon                         Barnes and Noble                Book Depository                Amazon UK            Harlequin

And congratulations to Stacie Deramo of Seattle!  She won the fabulous jewelry and set of books!  Maybe she’ll send us picture of her wearing her prize…

To celebrate the release of Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet next month, I’m running a super-cool contest.

One winner will get autographed copies of all three books in the Marshall series (The Privileged and the Damned, The Power and the Glory, and Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet) plus…

This beautiful three-piece jewelry set (made from glass pearls and crystals), designed specifically for Kimberly Lang readers by Renee at RazzMaTazz.

To enter, send me an email at kimberly@booksbykimberly.com with “Contest” in the subject line before June 1st.  Include your name, email and shipping address.*

And this gives me a great excuse to showcase my super-hot cover again…

*Must be 18 or older. Only one entry per person. Contest is open to readers world-wide. Winner is responsible for all customs or taxes. Entrant’s email address will be added to Kimberly Lang’s newsletter list. By entering, you agree to these terms.

My books get translated into foreign languages and I get a few copies when they do. Other than the one copy I put on my bookshelf to go “How cool is that?” they sit in a box.  I’d like to find them homes (and I know a lot of other authors are in the same position).

Maybe you can help.

Do you work in a library that serves a non-English community and could use more books in foreign  languages? Do you work or volunteer in a nursing home or convalescent facility where there’s a need for books in other languages for the residents to enjoy? Maybe your church or community center runs a program for immigrants or non-native speakers?

Surely someone somewhere would benefit from these books.

All you need to do is let me know. What languages do you need? What are your plans?  Have the person who’ll collect and distribute the books contact me, and we’ll work out the details: Kimberly@booksbykimberly.com

Not only am I willing to donate books where they’ll be useful, I’ll collect the information in to one place and make it available to other authors as well so that they can find good homes for their foreign editions.  I may not have the languages you need, but there’s an author out there who does.

Look at all those books up there… brand-new and unread. That’s a sad state for a book to be in. Let’s find them someone.

Please feel free to share this post on your social networking sites. 

Isn’t it GORGEOUS!?!?!?!*

Once again, I’ve teamed up with Lynn Raye Harris and Kira Sinclair in a book of excerpts to whet your appetite for our upcoming books. This time, we’re also excited to welcome debut Desire author Andrea Laurence to the booklet.  Andrea’s books are full of glitz and glam and gorgeous men, so she’s a good fit.

We’ll have the booklets with us at events over the spring and summer, so all you have to do is come up and say Hi to get one.  (Sorry, this is not something you can send an SASE for and get from me by mail.  You’ll either have to find us at an event or order it yourself through CreateSpace.  However, if you’re doing a reader event or other event where these would be appropriate, let me know. We might be able to send some for you to distribute to your attendees. )

*Design by Croco Designs. (Who also designed this website). She’s a genius!

I love the fact that Harlequin is a world-wide company.  Finding a foreign edition always makes me smile.  I’ve had a few foreign releases recently and thought I’d share.

Sometimes they use the same cover art, which makes it very easy to identify the book:

Girls’ Guide to Flirting With Danger, Greece

And here is is in Mexico:

The Privileged and the Damned, France

When they choose new cover art though, or put it in a collection with another author and use that author’s cover, finding out which book it is takes a little time with Google translate (especially when it’s in Russian or Greek or another language that doesn’t make the hero and heroine’s name easy to pick out of the description!)

This is the Italian version of The Privileged and the Damned

And this is The Millionaire’s Misbehaving Mistress in Brazil

I get a lot of hits from people looking for free downloads of my books.

Let me just say that there are no free LEGAL copies of my books available.

Oh, there are ILLEGAL copies of my books out there.  I spend time I’d rather spend writing sending takedown notices because the people uploading these books are violating copyright and I’m just trying to protect the books I worked hard to create.

Piracy hurts authors.

Of course, piracy hurts us financially.  I make a royalty on each copy sold.  Therefore, an illegal download means I didn’t make any money off that sale.  I love writing books. It’s my job, however, and I use that money to pay my bills.  If writers don’t get paid for the books they create, they have to find other ways to pay their bills.

Piracy hurts readers because when writers have to take other jobs to pay their bills, they don’t have the same amount of time to write the books readers enjoy.

It’s a lose-lose situation.

Piracy also hurts authors because our publishers like us to prove that we’re worth the money they’re spending editing, designing covers and printing/distributing books. If we don’t sell books, we don’t get new contracts to write more books because we’re not providing a return on their investment. The thousand illegal downloads doesn’t prove to the publisher that people like our books. The publisher looks only at the books sold because that’s how they make money. Low sales equal an author who doesn’t have a publisher anymore.

That hurts readers, too. If you’ve ever wondered why an author set out to write a trilogy but only two books exist, it’s because the sales of those first two books weren’t considered good enough for the publisher to take on the third book.

Again, a lose-lose situation.

Piracy is illegal. Copyright laws exist to protect the intellectual and creative property of artists of all kinds. The pirates who upload books, music, movies, software, etc to sites so others can download them for free are breaking the law and showing disrespect for the creators of that content.  The people who download that content are stealing. It’s no different than walking into a store, shoving something down your pants and walking out. It’s theft. Period.

Some folks believe that all content should be free, and I’ll never be able to convince them otherwise. They’ll never pay for anything, no matter how many times they’re told it’s illegal and immoral to steal. However, if you believe that authors deserve to be paid for the work they create, I’m hoping you’ll go purchase their books. I know; times are tough right now and lots of people are hurting financially.  However, the library is a great place to get books you love to read for free. And it’s legal.

I’m hoping you just landed on this page because you were hoping there was a free, legal giveaway going on somewhere or maybe you were hoping the next book was available already.  I now hope that you’ll wait and get a copy legally — either through a bookstore or your local library.

If a book is available for free download, I promise I will have it listed boldly on Facebook, Twitter, my newsletter, and this site. Any other site offering free downloads of my books are doing so illegally.

Please don’t support piracy.

********************

Kimberly Lang;  The Secret Mistress Arrangement; The Millionaire’s Misbehaving Mistress; Magnate’s Mistress…Accidentally Pregnant!; Boardroom Rivals, Bedroom Fireworks!; What Happens In Vegas…; Girls’ Guide to Flirting With Danger; The Privileged and the Damned; The Power and the Glory; Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet; Kimberley Lang; free download; streaming; pdf; ebook; torrent; 4shared; The Downfall of a Good Girl; The Taming of a Wild Child; Last Groom Standing; When Honey Got Married; Grace Felt the Heat; scribd; free ebook; No Time Like Mardi Gras; The Million Dollar Question; The Wedding Season; Something to Prove; Magnolia Beach; Everything at Last; tuebl; One Little Thing; More Than Anything;

I have new a Romance Trading Card for the Marshall series!

I’ll have them at the various places I’ll be over the spring and summer (at least while they last!) If you’d like one, just send me an SASE and I’ll send it to you!

I have a cover for Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet!

That guy is really pretty. Hummina is the word that comes to mind.  And he’s absolutely perfect for Finn!

Redemption will be out in the UK in April and in June in the US.