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Well, I'm back from my thirteenth Romance Writers of America national convention, and what a fine year it was! As always, I participated in meetings with many of The Knight Agency's clients (my job when not writing about the Spartans), and I also signed my recent NAL "Gods of Midnight" novels, Red Fire and Red Kiss during the Wednesday night literacy signing.  One fun fact: every year when I sign at RWA, I am seated next to Berkley author Angela Knight, who is as lovely as she is talented.  It was fun getting to catch up with her while we signed.  Angela also told me about a terrific Indian restaurant down the street, which proves at RWA it's good to pool your resources.

From my first few moments at the conference, I noticed a distinct difference over previous years: the huge impact of Twitter.  Many a new online friend introduced themselves to me over the course of the five days, and I will say there's such a cool sense of camaraderie to personally meeting someone from your online life.  I had to laugh when I checked my twitter account and a friend said, "That red necklace looks great on you." It was one of those "the phone call is coming from inside the house!" moments, only without the horror flick element!

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With fangirl apologies to the Beach Boys for my blog post title, I'd like to continue this week's discussion about how the immortal Spartans in my "Gods of Midnight" series might spend the lazy, hazy days of summer in their new home of Savannah. Of course, when do Spartans ever mix with the word lazy? Never, and definitely not in Red Kiss, the latest installment in my series about this band of warriors.

No, nothing about these alpha males could ever be slothful or indolent-which only makes our task of finding ways for them to unwind all the more crucial.  If not us, then who else will charge them with having a little bit of summertime love and madness? Right?

Lazy, hazy days of summer in Savannah.  I don't know about you, but my mind is instantly filled with images of time on the beach, long walks through Spanish moss-draped squares.  Side note: did you know that Savannah has an open container law? In other words, it's perfectly legal to stroll through the city carrying alcoholic beverages that locals term "travelers"? I'd say that said law reflects a certain loose and easy feeling that hovers over the town like ten days worth of humidity.

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I don't know about you, but I find spending time exploring the Internet to be pretty relaxing.  I love just trolling around, searching fan sites or playing on Facebook, and a recent hobby of mine (for lack of a better word) is spending time on Twitter.  Although I'll confess it can become the ultimate time suck, it's also a fascinating way to keep up with pop culture, current events, and friends.

So when I started thinking about our blog discussion this week, i.e. How the Spartans Will Spend Summer Vacation, I had a bit of an unconventional thought.  I decided that one of the immortal warriors should take up tweeting. Naturally, one of the seven Spartans particularly popped to mind as the one who should spend his summer vacation hanging out on Twitter.

Any idea who I might be thinking of? I'm curious if you're already guessing who, precisely, I think would enjoy life in tweetland.  Let's just say this: there's one Spartan in particular who wields a clever tongue and a smart mouth.  I think 140 words maximum per post would suit his irreverent humor just perfectly.  For those of you who are fans of the series, I'm betting you already know who I have in mind. Guesses anyone?

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Vacation and Spartans.  Now there's a word combination you don't see every day.  After all, it's not exactly like recreation and relaxation spring to mind when you think of Spartan warriors.  Then again, romance and love probably wouldn't have occurred to you either, at least not until my "Gods of Midnight" series debuted last fall with Red Fire.

But this particular band of Spartans, an immortal brotherhood of seven, have been protecting mankind from every form of evil for more than twenty-five hundred years.  In my mind these hot guys are due a hot vacation (or is that a cool vacation from the heat?)  So with summer just now kicking into gear, I thought it might be fun to handpick ideal vacations for each of the seven warriors-and brush up on who exactly is who while we're at it.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate the release of Red Kiss tomorrow!

King Leonidas.  Need I say more? Of the seven immortals, he's probably most in need of a spa day (mud wrap? Seaweed facial? Spray tan?)  He's also least likely to take time out for himself.  So, uh, good King Leo? I've come up with a summer activity list to help you unwind when you're not fighting demons. 

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Deidre Knight is our guest blogger during the week of June 1st. If you have any questions for Deidre Knight, add a comment to any of her posts.

Here is more information on Red Kiss:

The Spartans wage fierce wars-but nothing matches the battle within their hearts...

Spartan slave River Kassandros can transform into any weapon. After a bloody battle he's forever a dagger-until a mortal can release him. Drawn to this blade, Emma Lowery draws blood with it and frees River. But even as they fight off intense passions, a sinister power arises to destroy them. To protect humankind, they may have to make the ultimate sacrifice-and lose their chance at love...