RIO posted the 2006 RIO AWARD OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS LIST. Congratulations to fellow Samhellion authors Sela Carsen who was a runner up for Favorite Debut Novel with Not Quite Dead and Anne Whitfield, who was a runner up for Favorite Short Historical Romance with Kitty McKenzie! And as for 72 Hours…well, it’s hard for us to cry in our cornflakes when Linda Howard took the category, Shannon says. (I must find out if this Linda Howard has a muse and how she feels about Guatemalan worry dolls.)

It was brought to my attention this week that Shannon spells my name wrong. Esmerelda is, apparently, the correct spelling. We’re going to pretend this misspelling was deliberate and you can pretend you think it’s hip and cool. Okay?

Mandy and Michelle have opened a new forum called the Raven Vampire Club Reader Forum. They’re both fabulous authors—I wonder if they have muses already—and fun to hang out with. Despite the threat of being once again tied to the tracks, I will share with you a secret about Shannon.

She’s a dumbass.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking. That’s not exactly a secret. But she’s such a dumbass that even after six or so years online, she cannot master that little thing called a yahoogroup. She vows to become more involved on them, but then she is quickly overwhelmed and resorts to lurking once again. Message boards, on the other hand, she adores. So if you stop by the new Raven board, expect to see Shannon there babbling incessantly.

She even has a lovely signature banner to use there. (I, of course, did a minor modification to it before sharing it with you):

Until next week, don’t forget the most recent book Shannon transcribed for me, On the Edge, releases Tuesday!