Juliet Grey, author of BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE.

Join us on Monday, October 3rd as we celebrate the Month of Boo with three great guest readers: N.K. Jemisin, Marissa Day & Juliet Grey (AKA Leslie Carroll).

Venue: Madame X, Top Bar, 94 West Houston Street.

Admission: $5 or one paperback romance novel to benefit an EOY donation to a NYC women’s charity.

Cash bar with $5 drink specials.

Guest authors’ books available for sale and signing at the authors’ discretion. Sales are cash only.

Salon ends at 9PM. Attendees welcome to stay on and socialize at the downstairs lounge and garden.

Launched in February 2009 by Maya Rodale, Leanna Renee Hieber, Hope Tarr & Ron Hogan (Beatrice.com), Lady Jane’s is NYC’s first–and only–monthly romance fiction reading series.

Visit us on FaceBook or Twitter @LadyJanesSalon.

Event details are:

Monday, August 1st, 7-9 PM, Madame X (Top Bar)
Admission: $5 or 1 gently used romance novel. Proceeds support an end-of-year donation to a NYC women’s charity. Cash bar

Lastly but not least-ly, for those of you who were unable to join us in June for our special salon event welcoming The Romance Writers of America conference attendees to The Big Apple, you did indeed miss a treat! Laurie Kahn and crew, the Emmy award winning team of Blueberry Hill Productions, was on hand to film the event from start to finish for The Popular Romance Project, a documentary film project focused on romance fiction. The project is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Mass Humanities, Romance Writers of America, and the Tavris Fund at Brandeis University/Women’s Studies Research Center.

They couldn’t have chosen a better night. The house was packed to breathing room only status with writers, agents and editors, and romance readers from across the country. The program, extended by one hour, did not disappoint: six great guest readers including Popular Romance Project adviser, Fordham University professor of English, and New York Times bestselling romance author, Eloisa James. Please stay tuned for videos of a truly special night.

April’s scintillating Salon guests are Lisa Dale, Leslie Carroll and special guest emcee Alisa Bowman, author of the book and uber popular blog, PROJECT HAPPILY EVER AFTER. Guest authors books will be available for sale and signing on site. (Cash only).

Admission is $5 or one paperback romance novel. Net proceeds support an end-of-year donation to a NYC women’s charity.

The Lady Jane Founders: Ron Hogan, Hope Tarr, Leanna Renee Hieber & Maya Rodale take a breath--and a bow.

The Salon celebrated Her Ladyship’s second anniversary in grand style, drawing quite possibly our biggest audience ever.Not only was sitting and standing room at premium but so, at times, was breathing space!

Roses from the darlings at Madame X, our host venue for these two years (and counting!), set a festive, romantic mood from the start.

On hand to help us ring in the Big 0-2 were our fabulous guest authors: Courtney Milan, Lauren Willig, and Caridad Ferrer.

Guest emcee, Andrew Shaffer had us all rolling in what little aisle space was left with his rousing and oh so hilarious readings from GREAT PHILOSOPHERS WHO FAILED AT LOVE. Poor Abelard and Heloise. It really isn’t funny–and yet it was!

Alyssa Montoya accepts our donation check on behalf of W-I-N.

But Lady Jane’s isn’t just about the razzle dazzle. From the very first, a vital component of the Salon’s mission has been to give back to our community. At the midpoint break, we Salon founders had the great pleasure of presenting our 2010 donation check to our chosen charity, Women-in-Need.

Afterward, it was time to break out the champers and cupcakes.Thanks to “guest bartender,” Sarah MacLean, for coming to the rescue with a ready pouring hand. By the by, Sarah writes a mean romance novel, too. Look for her as a return guest reader at our June 27th Special Event Salon.

Model, blogger and author, Isobella Jade generously donated a copy of her book, ALMOST 5’4 for our raffle. Thanks, Isobella! As someone who stands just ever so slightly *over* 5’4, I heart you!

In case you don't believe us about the crowd...

Last but never least, thanks to all our friends and fellow writers at Romance Writers of America/New York City for their consistent and loving support, and to all of you–yes, YOU–who’ve made Lady Jane’s a success these two years by coming month after month, blogging about the event, and generally sharing the goodness through word-of-mouth buzz. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Huzzah and Happy Anniversary!

Hope Tarr

Salon Co-Founder

The Salon meets on Monday, January 3rd, 7-9 PM at Madame X (94 W. Houston St.). Cash bar. Admission is $5 or one gently used paperback romance novel.Net proceeds support an end-of-year donation to a NYC based women’s charity.

Wishing you Happy Holidays & a Joyous New Year,

The Lady Jane Founders Team

Joining us will be: Stella Price, Terence Taylor, Allie Boniface, and the lovely Sarah MacLean. Looks like we’ll have a little bit of spooky, a little bit of Regency, and a taste of contemporary steam!

And we’ll also be raffling two copies of Lauren Willig’s latest, The Mischief of the Mistletoe.

Salon meets at 7-9 PM chez Madame X. Admission is $5 or one gently used romance novels, net proceeds and books to support NYC women’s charities. Cash bar.

We have a date on September 6^th and I am so excited!

As I write this note, I’m wearing pajamas and Sesame Street is playing in the background.  Ah, the glamour.  But honestly, I don’t mind the more scruffy aspects of the writing life.  I love to disappear into the wild country of my stories and fall in love with the inhabitants, all the while never leaving my writing desk.

But my ability to time travel while sitting still isn’t the most potent writing magic.  It’s the connection between the writer and the reader.  As a writer, I capture the treasure of the story from these wild territories of the mind, and I share these adventures with you.  If I’ve done my job right, writing is the telepathy Stephen King talks about in his memoir, ON WRITING – the continuous dream passes from my mind directly to your heart, through the words on the page, or on the screen.

One of the most thrilling parts of being a writer is closing the circle and meeting the people who share the dream with you – the readers.  After all, I am also a reader too.  It’s a rare pleasure for this Sesame Street-serenaded writer to get all dressed up, head out to New York City, and haunt the night with other people who are passionate about books.

If you can’t make it to the Madame X lounge, please visit me on the web at www.michelelang.com to learn more about the world of LADY LAZARUS and my other stories.

But if you can make it the night of September 6^th, you bring the passion for discovering new places and characters, and I’ll bring my latest book, LADY LAZARUS.  We’ll have a little drink in a well-lighted place, and together, we’ll celebrate the awesomeness of story magic.  See you there!

Bio: Michele Lang writes supernatural tales: the stories of witches, lawyers, goddesses, bankers, demons, and other magical creatures hidden in plain sight.

Her speculative romance NETHERWOOD released from Dorchester/Shomi in 2008, and she is the author of the historical fantasy LADY LAZARUS, releasing September 2010 from Tor Books.

LADY LAZARUS tells the story of Magda Lazarus, a witch with the power to summon souls and a sister who can foretell the future.  Set on the eve of World War II in a magical Budapest, Magda must do battle with SS Werewolves, wizards, and demons, including the one that has possessed a willing Adolf Hitler…

Jim Butcher says: “An absolutely unique protagonist in an engaging tale set against the backdrop of the greatest clash of good and evil in human history.  What’s not to love about LADY LAZARUS?”

To find out more about Michele and her books, visit her at www.michelelang.com

The August Salon welcomes three great guest authors: Anna DePalo, Erica Ridley, and Alaya Dawn Johnson.

Guest authors books will be available for purchase on site.

Lady Jane’s meets at Madame X (94 West Houston) on the first Monday of every month, 7-9 PM. Cash bar. Admission is $5 or one gently-used paperback romance novel with net proceeds supporting local women’s charities.

Salon Co-Founder, Hope Tarr. Photo by BizUrban.com.

I’m so excited to be reading The Tutor, my latest Harlequin Blaze release at the July 5th Lady Jane’s Salon.

Set in Victorian Scotland–corsets and kilts, oh my!–The Tutor picks up where Untamed, the finale to my Men of Roxbury House trilogy, left off. Lady Bea Lindsey, Kate’s “bratty” baby sister, is all grown up, a “modern” young woman who knows her own mind. Alas, Bea has gotten herself engaged to a very nice but very dull gentleman. A dry run of the wedding night has shown that if she wants any pleasure in her marriage bed, she’s going to have to take the reins. But first she needs a tutor, someone sufficiently trustworthy, knowledgeable, and yes, sensual to instruct her in the loving arts.

Enter Ralph Sylvester, a former East London street rogue turned semi-respectable private secretary. Ralph and Bea have been friends for nine months but so far the sexual tension simmering between them has remained buried beneath the surface. Bea is an earl’s daughter as well as Ralph’s best friend’s sister-in-law. But when she shows up at his bedchamber door post-midnight wearing a red velvet cape and nothing beneath, Ralph knows that, lady or not, she means business. If he had any doubts, her bold request cinches it.

“I wish for you to tutor me in…sex.”

Having lusted after Bea for nine long months, no way is Ralph going to turn her down. Repeat: no way. Only instead of agreeing to tutor her for one paltry night, he insists on a full week of very private lessons. For seven sexy days and nights, no pleasure will be forbidden, no desire too shocking.

It’s every man’s fantasy…until the student surpasses the teacher.

The July 5th Lady Jane’s promises to be a jam-packed evening of fun. Along with Yours Truly, we have three great guest authors: Toni McGee Causey, Dianna Love (returning to the Salon), and Colby Hodge AKA Cindy Holby . Otherwise, same time, same place: 7-9 PM at Madame X. Admission is $5 or one gently-used paperback romance novel with net proceeds supporting an end-of-year donation to a New York City women’s charity.

As always, we’ll have the authors books available for purchase and signing on site, including Maya Rodale’s late June release, A Groom of One’s Own.

Happy Independence Day,

Hope

Image Courtesy of LisaDaleBooks.com

In a fun break with Za Rules, this month’s recap post is by a guest author who hasn’t read at the Salon–yet! Click on the link and hear what the wonderful Lisa Dale has to say about her Lady Jane’s experience.

And please do mark your calenders to join us on July 5th. We have a jam-packed evening with four guest authors reading from their latest releases: Toni McGee Causey, Dianna Love (returning to the Salon), Colby Hodge AKA Cindy Holby, and yes, me,  Salon Co-Founder, Hope Tarr reading from The Tutor, my July Victorian-set romance.

Otherwise, same time, same place: 7-9 PM at Madame X. Admission is $5 or one gently-used paperback romance novel with net proceeds supporting an end-of-year donation to a New York City women’s charity.

As always, we’ll have author books available for purchase and signing on site, including Maya’s late June release, A Groom of One’s Own.

Cheers,

Hope