News and Notes: Just a bunch of Friday stuff

 * Colleen Gleason showed off a sneak peek of her new historical vampire romance cover. The Vampire Voss will hit shelves in April 2011 is the first in a new series, unrelated to the Gardella books, that will feature vampires mingling amidst the haute ton in 19th century London. Visit her website for more.

* Jeweled, a hot new menage romance by bestselling author Anya Bast will be released November 2nd and if the book is as good as the cover we should all have a new way to keep warm this winter. Anya has a couple of contests running and some signings coming up so be sure to stop by her website or blog and see what's going on. You can also read an excerpt of Jeweled.  

*I'm not much into collecting dolls but these look pretty cool and Ash's hair makes me think I might need to go back to black and red for the winter.

* Don't forget: The contest to win a book in the Strangely Beautiful series ends on Monday. Leanna Renee Heiber wrote an awesome post for our Dracula event that sheds some light on the current steampunk phenomenon, and explains Stoker's influence on the trend.

* Simon & Schuster/ Pocket After Dark featured some fantastic paranormal romance titles in the latest newsletter. I can't wait to get my greedy little hands on quite a few of these books, including Blood Trinity, Ecstasy in Darkness, Entice Me at Twilight, and the Haunted by Your Touch anthology. I'd put cover photos but it seems that Blogger hates me tonight. 

* Friday 56: This week my selection comes from one of my all time favorite vampire books, Mina by Marie Kiraly. This was one of the first books that told the classic Dracula story primarily from Mina's point of view and I found that idea captivating, still do. I chose the cover that matches my version of the book but it looks like a newer cover is out there. Page 56 is actually a blank page so I just used the next available page with words on it and ironically, it is one of the few that is from Jonathan's eyes.

He ordered a double brandy neat and stared into the glass, thinking how luminous their skin had been, how glowing their eyes.


Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Now I want to hear from you! What is your Friday 56? What are you currently reading that stands out? Do any of these books I mentioned appeal to you? Any good weekend plans?