A World Without Books Or why reading and writing are vitamins for the brain

Buy Desiree's latest Decadent Publishing Release
Overnight Sensation
HERE!

By Desiree Holt

I remember reading book from the earliest age. Books were a staple in our household. My mother and my sister read constantly. Mostly mysteries, I think. My first books were things like The House at Pooh Corner and The Jungle Book. Books that took me to faraway and mysterious places. Books that stirred my imagination and made me create my own stories. As I grew into my teen years my reading expanded. In high school I read a YA romance called Seventeenth Summer that to this day still stays with me. It was such a beautiful story of teenage love and what happens when summer is over. How we grow from such a relationship.

Older still I began to read the mysteries my family loved and as I read them I found myself getting lost in the wonderful stories. These were classic mysteries, like Ellery Queen and Nero Wolf and all the books by the master of suspense, Agatha Christie. From there it was a short step to the queens of romantic suspense, Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. Their books are such classic that they are now being reissued both in print and as ebooks, so new generations can enjoy them.

I’m still an avid reader as well as now a writer who loves creating stories. My tastes cover everything from romance to thrillers to paranormal. In the pages of every book I read or write I can lose myself in a new adventure, a new romance, a new experience.  On a bad day when I need comfort I turn first to my books. Where would I be without them? Where would any of us be?

How would we learn about chemistry and economics and history and mathematics? How could we appreciate people like Shakespeare who have had a profound effect on theatre and drama or Emmanuel Kant and Sigmund Freud who have had a profound effect on our thinking?

Many, many years ago I saw a movie titled Fahrenheit 451. That’s the temperature at which paper burns. The movie was set in a world where the destruction of all books had been decreed, all opportunities for people to learn or think anything opposite of what the rulers dictated. But a dedicated group gathered all the books they could and carried them to a secret place. These people then memorized every book, reciting them to each other to instill them in their memories and pass them along to their children who, hopefully, would live in a different world where the books could be converted to readable material again.

That’s how important books were and are.

They are a refuge, an escape, a resource. Without books we’d have no libraries or book clubs or authors to share their ideas. Books are the food of the mind. Let’s keep feeding it.

Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite book of all time is. One lucky commenter will win a copy of her choice from my Decadent Publishing backlist. Be sure to leave your email addy in your response!

Where can you find me?

www.desireeholt.com

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What happens when seven crazy authors, good friends, get together for a girls only weekend with chocolate wine and whipped cream vodka?

 You get the Sassy Seven Authors, a bunch of new series, and the idea for the Naughty Sleepover, a weekend that’s the ultimate girls night out. In our latest series The Naughty Sleepover, all the stories are based at The Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, where our Naughty Sleepover is being held in February 2013. And all begin in the historic bar where Teddy Roosevelt met with his Rough Riders.

So first about the event. The weekend begins with a Decadent Chocolate Hour (sponsored by Decadent Publishing, of course!) that actually runs all evening and proceeds next day through a discussion with a Dom, a “special toys” party and male dancers in the evening. (Think Chippendales.) Plus we have two very special hunks who will be your hosts for the weekend.

All in good fun and a chance to go wild in a friendly environment. Check it out at www.sassyseven.com/naughty_sleepover. We even have a payment plan for registration so your budget is safe.

And now for the stories!


Sugar Girl by Nicole Austin 

A guy walks into a bar... And finds the girl he shouldn’t have left behind. Their differences kept Candy and Jeremiah apart until finally, the road lead them back where they belong. But in the harsh light of the morning after can she really hold on to a shooting star?


 

Say Yes by Regina Carlysle 

All work and no play is no way to live and J.D. Stone aims to change that after a chance meeting at the Menger Hotel. When the lonely rancher meets sassy photographer, Melissa Bell, the sparks fly and passions burn hot enough to incinerate them both. 




Spank ’Em Cowboy by Samantha Cayto 

Tara hopes to survive her sister's wedding without a wardrobe malfunction. Rob spots the voluptuous filly and cuts her from the herd. And when she craves someone to take the reins, he knows he's the right man to saddle her up for the ride of her life.


 More Than You Know by Cerise DeLand 

One redhead. One bartender. Lots of laughter. A desire so tender that the sheets they burn up together could set the hotel on fire. But can he intrigue a woman who’s older? What if he never lets her out of bed? Will she still want him tomorrow? 


 

Overnight Sensation by Desiree Holt 

Pulled together in a crowd by an instant attraction, Abbie and Sam are powerless against the incendiary combustion that consumes them and turn a chance meeting into an overnight sensation 


 Blame it on Texas by Allie Standifer 

Everything's supposed to be bigger and better in Texas, right? Sexy plus size model Serena Morgan isn't convinced until Texas country star Kale Winters takes her in a night of passion. Come morning will Kale convince Serena he's the real deal or Blame it on Texas? 



 

When a Lady Meets a King by Brenna Zinn 

Lady Pembrook went to great lengths, traveling thousands of miles and assuming a false identity to satisfy her fantasy of a one-night stand with a real Texas cowboy. But when a mysterious stranger in dark sunglasses threatens to expose her scandalous behavior, a handsome King comes to the rescue.