Unwrapping: JURY DUTY - A CHANCE TO TALK ROMANCE

Well, I had jury duty this week and who'd a thunk it that it would turn out to be a great chance to talk Romance Novels! If you've ever done your civic duty and participated in jury duty then you know that until things get going you have very little to do but sit. Of course, I came prepared with my ereader in tow.

It's very common for someone sitting nearby to notice when you're reading a book and ask what you're reading but I was surprised when they were also curious about what I was reading on my reader. When I told the lady who asked that I was reading an anthology of paranormal romance, she asked if I read a lot. Do I read a lot? It was the perfect opening!

I went on to tell her that I had a blog, that I read and review romance novels of all sorts, write about romance and before long, I was surrounded by several ladies eager to hear what was new. Many admitted that they used to read romance novels but had become bored with the stories. Well, I told them that things had changed. Anything they love in mainstream can be found in romance - historicals, adventure, suspense, spies, vampires and shape shifters, and steampunk. One lady was thrilled that there was steampunk romance, she was already a fan of the costumes and jewelry.

Being the smart person that I pretend to be, I had my business cards for the blog tucked into my reader and gladly handed them out. I hope they come visit and join the fun. I gave them recommendations for new novels coming up, my favorites from 2012, and told them that there were so many new authors to choose from that there was surely a series for each of them to fall in love with in the future.

Now, you're probably wondering if I got to sit on a case. No. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though. Well, I ended up only going on day one. The defendant plead guilty before the trial could even begin, thank goodness. The judge came in and explained why we were being released. I've never had a judge do that before - it was pretty cool but then we are a small jurisdiction. She told us that she was quite relieved that we didn't have to suffer through that case since the defendant had been charged with 35 counts of child pornography. I was very glad, too. I don't think I could've kept an open mind about that one. There were a lot of women in the room and I think he would've been going down for the count before we ever heard evidence. Perhaps his lawyer knew that too.

I've still got one more day to go later in the month and I'm curious to see if I get a case then. The last time I sat jury duty, I was put on a jury where this little guy was charged with assault and battery on this much bigger guy. Well, after hearing the evidence, we found the little guy not guilty of beating up the bully. This guy was such a bully that he actually threatened the jury members so that we were escorted to safety by the bailiffs. That was the big thrill of the day.

How about you? Have you ever been caught by the jury duty lottery? Did you get a case and was it worth it? Do you ever get a chance to talk romance - novels, that is??  *wink*

Well, it's been a strange week but I hope yours has been good. If you haven't stopped by the Wacky Wednesday post this week, there's a fabulous Giveaway going on provided by two awesome authors of paranormal romance, Jessa Slade and Elle James. They were kind enough to take over the blog for me on Wednesday in case I was stuck at the courthouse doing my duty as a good citizen. Please feel free to go by, read about their new books, magic and mayhem and enter to win a pack of goodies. The Giveaway ends January 19th so you've got plenty of time.  Click HERE to head over there to join the fun!

Happy Reading Everyone!!