Six by Six

The winner of the Five for Jeanne giveaway is Caroline, whose comment read: Thanks so much for this and for the story of Jeanne. May the holidays land and equally lovely surprise or three on your doorstep, and who should e-mail me at LynnViehl@aol.com with your full name, ship-to info and title of the book you'd like for your bookwish so I can get these all out to you.

Six is a very creative number. A perfect number, when you consider that it is both the sum (1 + 2 + 3) and the product (1 ´ 2 ´ 3) of the first three numbers. The sixth element on the Periodic Table is carbon, without which life as we know it would not exist. There are six spectral colors: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and violet; and six sides to a cube. Even God was reported to have created Adam on the sixth day (well, nobody's perfect.)

There are always new voices coming out in any genre, but 2006 was a very cool year (because it ends with a six, no doubt):

1. Around this time last December I wrote about one of my favorite authors, Patricia Briggs and her debut urban fantasy Moon Called, which really took off when it was released a few months later. See? I'm not gloating. Much.

2. The beautiful cover art for Marjorie M. Liu's Shadow Touch grabbed my attention in February, but the story delivered so much more, as did the sequels. That and I think Marjorie is just getting warmed up.

3. I was wowed by the great copy for Stephanie Rowe's Date Me, Baby, One More Time in May -- a novel lives up to its copy, too. Delightful.

4. Shiloh Walker, who is always trying to drag me away from the joys of doing laundry, railroaded me with her novel Hunting the Hunter in July. This book is so hot it should burn your fingers when you read it.

5. Nalini Singh got folks all around the blogosphere talking about her September release Slave to Sensation. Beautiful writing, elegant flow, great story.

6. In October I had the pleasure of virtually meeting author Michelle Rowen when she joined in with the e-book challenge, which prompted me track down a copy of her terrific January release Bitten & Smitten. Another reason to love Canada: they have Michelle Rowen.

I enjoyed these books so much that I couldn't choose between them, so the sixth very cool book of December is actually six very cool books.

For a chance to win today's giveaway, in comments to this post tell us the name of an author that you discovered and enjoyed this year (or, if you've not found anyone new to read, just throw your name in the hat) by midnight EST on December 10, 2006. I'll draw one name from everyone who participates and send the winner unsigned copies of Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, Shadow Touch by Marjorie M. Liu, Date Me, Baby, One More Time by Stephanie Rowe, Hunting the Hunter by Shiloh Walker, Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh, Bitten & Smitten by Michelle Rowen, and Talyn by Holly Lisle. Giveaway open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.