The Romance Lovers Bookshelf

The Reluctant Dom-Tymber Dalton

2009-06-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

Love hurts...if you're lucky.

Kaden knows he's dying, but before he goes, he has one problem he needs to solve - he must ask his oldest friend Seth to take over as his beloved wife's Dom and Master after his death. Seth has always seen himself as the perpetual screw-up and Kaden as the strong and steady one, so his friend's request rocks his world.

Now Seth finds himself immersed in a role he's far from comfortable with: inflicting pain to provide emotional comfort for the woman he's secretly loved for years. Can he deal with his crushing grief and learn the skills he must master in time to become THE RELUCTANT DOM?

One of the best things about being a writer is the networking with other writers. This opens you up to new authors in genres you never previously read.

This was the case with BDSM. I think I can count on one hand the BDSM themed books I've read in my lifetime. The genre just never really grabbed me and I found it difficult to get into that headspace where pain could be a good thing.

Enter The Reluctant Dom. In Tymber Dalton's world, the reasons for healing through pain make complete sense while seeming to the outside world to be a complete oxymoron.

Granted, there are some who play with BDSM for the purely sexual gratification but that's not the story Tymber is telling. In her world, the BDSM almost becomes it's own character. Someone to lean on, to listen, to cry to because we are never at our most vulnerable, most open and true than when we are in pain.

For Leah, that pain was used against as her a child, both physically, emotionally and sexually. So she closed off, shut down and began harming herself out of guilt and shame. She is a truly broken woman when our first hero, Kaden meets her. She keeps her self-harm a secret from him, but once he discovers what she's doing he's understandably horrified.

At the same time, Kaden has fallen so irrevocably in love with her by this point that he proposes what seems to be a conflicting idea. She needs to deal with the pain of her past and how it has skewed her ability to process emotions. Therapy has been exhausted and unsuccessful. Kaden will help her express those emotions through pain. It's the only way Leah's walls can ever come down because she trusts and loves Kaden. She knows she can use the pain to channel her emotions and he'll be there when the dust has settled.

It's a concept that takes some doing to get a reader's head around but Tymber weaves a spell that is so rich and so powerful that you get it. You get why Leah needs it and you get why Kaden gives it to her.

Then fate throws a horrible wrench in their 20 year marriage. There will be no happily ever after. Kaden discovers he has cancer. It's now a race against time to save his beloved from what he knows will be an irreversible break down if he dies and she is left without the love she's come to depend on as much as her own breath.

So Kaden makes a decision to replace that love...or at least replace his part in it. His replacement is their best friend Seth. An ex-army vet who's had horrible luck with women and has been as close to both of them as a brother.

He proposes that Seth take his place. Understandably, Seth is horrified and confused by what will be the loss of his best friend and the horror of being asked to take Kaden's place in all aspects of his relationship with Leah.

The three characters are so emotionally well developed that you're breathless watching them all navigate this completely foreign road and yet their devotion to each other never wavers. The love is there, the fear, the anger all of it is visceral and true to the complicated human experience.

There are moments of comedy woven through (thank God) and of course, moments of utter despair. With every passing chapter I found myself torn between wanting to devour every page and wanting to postpone the inevitable ending. In fact. I stopped reading for a few weeks just before the last chapter because I did NOT want the book to end.

I'm an unapologetic fangirl for this book. It touched me in a way I don't completely understand but isn't that the case with all great books?

Cold Kiss-Dorian Wallace

2009-01-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

Aileen McCallum moved across the ocean for a man she thought was the love of her life only to be abandoned and left to try and make her way in a little Scottish town. At her wit’s end, she is distracted by her handsome neighbor who shows Aileen things about herself that she never thought possible.

Just as her life seems to be back on track, she is forced to make a choice. She must deal with vampires and a shape shifting enemy determined to take her down by handing her over to the one who wants to take her powers.

Cold Kiss is a fun, hot read that reminds me of the movie Wanted (with James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie) but with the James and Angelina roles reversed.

Imagine if you will, a heroine, so down in the dumps she's ready to just end it all. Her boss is an ass and, her husband let her know he was leaving her by moving out and she's surrounded by people who just could care less if she toppled off the face of the earth. Her life has no direction, no purpose and so she figures why not just pack it all in?

Just as she's about to end her life, a man comes a knockin' on her door. Not just any man but the hunky Scottish neighbor she's seen a time or two. Farell shows Aileen that not only does her life have purpose, but it has a very special purpose. Farrell is a part of a society of people with very special psychic abilities and under his tutalage, Aileen blossoms and develops a confidence in herself that is wonderful to see.

Of course, the sexual attraction between tutor and student explodes into love but then the unthinkable happens. Aileen's seriously psychotic ex-husband Spencer kidnaps Farrell and in a delighful twist, it's up to the newly emboldened and powerful Aileen to save her man.

Turns out Spencer is his own kind of supernaturally powerful and along with his batshit crazy witch girlfriend, they set out to draw Aileen into a showdown to steal her powers.

It was a lot of fun to watch Aileen not only find the place she belongs, among special people like herself, but find a love worth fighting for.

Pick up your copy Here

The Violin-Sarah J McNeal

2009-01-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

Genevieve has dreamed about him all her life, but it isn’t until she buys his violin and finds the remnants of his life and the mystery of his death within its case, that she makes a decision that will change her life forever. Is there a way to change the past and save the man who haunts her heart?

You know that warm, comforting feeling you get when you settle in with a bowl of popcorn to watch and old black and white movie? That's the feeling you get reading Sarah J. McNeal's 'The Violin'.

One of my favorite paranormal genres to read is time travel. I have devoured Diana Gabaldon's Jamie/Claire series so whenever I can get my hands on another time travel romance, I'm filled with glee.

Genevieve Beaumont is a heroine to root for. She's an old fashioned girl living in a contemporary world She has no family and has been all but fired from the job she loves. She lives a very lonely existence and is haunted by dreams of a man she has never met and the violin that belongs to him.

She is stunned to see an ad for the very violin in her dreams in the newspaper and is compelled to track it down and acquire it for herself which leads her on an oddessy to save the man in her dreams from a horrific death.

John is a charming, good hearted rake, the quintessential early 20th century hero. I loved him and found myself smiling everytime he opened his mouth. His love for Genevive is instant and his family embraces her. Soon Genevive is torn between this life that has everything she's ever wanted and her old life.

Sarah doesn't spend too much time working out the logistics of time travel which I think too many author's worry about and we learn later she has a very good reason for going that route. I won't dream of spoiling it for you.

Sarah does a wonderful job letting the reader experience early 20th century life and I loved how she weaved in the customs, beliefs and not to mention the small town, country food! It was all brought vividly to life.

She effectively drops little hints here and there and everytime I thought I understood where she was going, she threw me a curveball and I had to re-evaluate the story she was telling. I was left open mouthed at the end. I did NOT see that coming and yet the ending doesn't come off as one of those pretentious 'surprise' endings that I really abhor. The ending made complete sense when you added up the little hints that came before.

Bravo Sarah! A definite two thumbs up! I just might pick up an extra copy in print this time so I can keep it on my keeper shelf.

Pick up your own copy Here

The Darkest Joy-Dahlia Rose

2008-11-11T16:26:00.000-08:00

For a crime committed in the halls of heaven, he fell from grace and became one of the fallen. Now he serves his punishment in the pits of the underworld as the collector of the devil's debts. For Caim, a thousand years in the servitude of demons is more than he can bear. Now he has a chance to be free and to find peace. He has found what he seeks most in the eyes and arms of Bliss Tadeo, a phlebotomist in a small town called Merry, North Carolina. She has soothed the beast within him and given him a chance for redemption. If they can both survive his ultimate escape from hell…

Now this might make me biased but I knew going in that I was going to love this book and I so did!

Fallen angels...they just do something to me. Those bad boys, tortured heroes who have fallen from perfection and keep striving to regain that glory again. Add to that the workings of heaven and hell and I'm so there. If I were to try writing paranormal, it would probably be a fallen angel premise.

So when I got my digital hands on The Darkest Joy, well it was like Christmas for me.

Bliss is a wonderful heroine, amazingly strong without being 'bitchy' (one of my biggest pet peeves is the bitchy 'kick-ass' heroine) Bliss is a real woman, with real pressures and a great mind yet she's not afraid to be vulnerable, loving and warm. Can we have more likeable heroines like this please?

It is these characteristics that make her instant connection to Caim so believable. She's an open person, not afraid of her own heart and it is in her very nature so when Caim appears to her, she receives him and they form an great rapport. The attraction between them sizzles and it's made all the more enjoyable by the fact that they actually like each other!

Caim is hot. There's no getting around it and nor would ya want to! He's fallen from grace and has to serve out a thousand year sentence in hell, made worse by the fact that he has to collect the souls of those who have made deals with the devil. One scene in particular has Caim collecting the soul of a married man whose wife bravely refuses to give him up. I have to say, that scene brough tears to my eyes. There's an innocence to Caim that is so appealing and I couldn't help smile when he reveals to Bliss that he's never had sex before.

As the minutes tick down to the end of Caim's sentence, Bliss vows to fight by his side. She is a warrior woman in the best sense of the word. She knows nothing of other worldly battles or weapons tactics, she fights with her heart and the final showdown between her, Caim and Belial who wants to keep Caim in hell is absolutely heart pounding.

Dahlia Rose knows romance. More than that, she knows how to weave in emotion not just her love scenes but into every scene. I got misty eyed many times and while the love scenes between Caim and Bliss were undeniably sexy, they were bursting with so much emotion as well that I found myself getting a bit teary during those as well!

You need to read The Darkest Joy by Dahlia Rose. I can tell you right now, you'll love it. And if you don't. I'll eat my feet.

The Darkest Joy An erotic IR novella available at Amira Press right now!

Hired By The Cowboy-Donna Alward

2008-08-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Marriage of convenience stories are one of my very favorite plots and Donna Alward pulls this off beautifully in her Harlequin debut 'Hired By The Cowboy'.

Connor's family farm Windover is in serious financial straits. But the only way he can get early access to the trust fund that will help him save it is to marry.

Alexis is pregnant and on her own, determined to make a new start and provide for her baby when the father turns his back on them. When she faints and awakens in the arms of the handsome Connor, the two form an instant bond. When Connor offers her the tempting proposition to become his wife in an arrangement that will benefit both of them and provide Alexis with everything she wants for her baby, she is tempted to agree but is wary of forming an attachment to another man.

The thing I liked best about their relationship is that right off the bat, these were two people who actually liked each other. The chemistry between them was both hot and sweet at the same time. I enjoy the friction of a hate at first sight marriage of convenience but this was a nice refreshing change.

The progression of their relationship was believable and even though there was no actual love scene in the book (one of my peeves in romance novels) I was willing to forgive Ms. Alward that because the passion between these two was so evident and the course of their relationship was so involving and emotionally driven.

Check out this great interview with Donna at one of my favorite haunts Coffee Time Romance: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Interviews/DonnaAlward.html

Visit Donna at her official site here: http://www.donnaalward.com/

Amira Press Chat Night

2008-07-17T09:35:00.001-07:00

I'll make another announcement next week but I thought I'd give everyone a heads up about this.

I'll (E. Jamie) be joining the other Amira authors in the Fallen Angels Reviews chatroom talking about my story 'To Love A Knight' as well as my upcoming release 'Forbidden'. There will be contests and give aways. It should be an awesome time!

THE AMIRA PRESS ROAST!

Come lift your glasses and celebrate our authors with us!

at

The Amira Press Roast!!

July 30th 2008 from 8-10 pm

at the Fallen Angels live chat room!

http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/home.shtml

Come on out and join the excitement!
Each author will be talking about their books or answering fun questions!

And….

Fun and prizes from the authors of Amira Press!
So many mini-contests your head will spin!

Who will be there? Well look at this fabulous line up!

Author Contest Prize
Sarah J. McNeal Autographed copy of The Violin and goodies
Lainey Bancroft E-book copy of Mixed Blessings and handmade book bag filled with goodies
Lesli Richardson Gift card from Books-A-Million
Kathleen Rowland Autographed copy of Mining Evermore and handmade mini-quilt
Crymsyn Hart E-book copy of Midnight Mocha
Laura Major Print copy of Mismatched
Dahlia Rose Bath & Body Works gift set
Anastasia Rabiyah Goblin's Bride hat, bookmarks and magnets
Dawne Dominique E-book copy of Return to Me, picture frames and notebook with dripping blood exterior
Yvette Lynn E-book copy of The Vampire's Surge
Jordana Ryan E-book copy of No Matter What and The Wrong Woman
E. Jamie First Knight video
C. A. Milson To be announced
Missy Lyons Box of Hershey's chocolate
Lynde Lakes E-book copy of Midnight Destiny
Jenny Gilliam E-book copy of Letting Luce

See you there!!

You don’t want to miss this!!

Interview w Danielle Steel

2008-07-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Best-selling author Danielle Steel writes to 'give people hope'

By Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press

NEW YORK - It's only 9:33 a.m. but already Danielle Steel is having a lousy morning.

She's in a Rockefeller Plaza dressing room, having her hair tugged and her makeup tweaked. She's endured questioning from Matt Lauer on the "Today" show and soon faces a second round with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.

Crowding around are fashionably dressed publicists, agents with noisy cell phones, burly camera operators and various preening hangers-on. The plaza outside vibrates with throngs of screaming fans, aching to rub shoulders with the famous - anyone famous.

Steel hates it.

From her pained expression, it's clear she'd rather be anywhere but here, her zone of privacy now no bigger than Al Roker himself.

"This is so not me," she says. "I hate having the spotlight on me. I hate being the focus of attention. I like being the invisible observer. So this is very painful."

Steel, who turns 61 in August, doesn't need fame. Her name is virtually synonymous with the romance novel. She doesn't need cash. Some 570 million of her books are in print.

What she wants is a Garbo moment - to be left alone, to write more. So why would she agree to an interview sandwiched between TV appearances?

"Occasionally, I have to stick my nose out the door," she says, warily. "Otherwise, people are going to think I'm 100 years old and dead."

Any visit to a bookstore would disprove that. An ever-lengthening list of such Steel titles as "The Wedding," "Sisters" and "Second Chance" crowd multiple shelves. She knocks out about three books a year.

What brings her to New York and the media glare is her 75th book, "Rogue," the tale of a sober-minded psychologist and her playboy ex-husband "whose kisses were as intoxicating as everything else about him." When one of the two considers remarriage, their lives take a turn.

The novel, which Publishers Weekly called "a familiar formula with fresh results," debuted at No. 4 on The New York Times list of best-sellers, No. 8 on USA Today's list and No. 6 on The Wall Street Journal's.

Atop such lists is a familiar Steel perch. Between 1996 and 2003, Publishers Weekly reports that 16 of her novels were best-sellers, and the Guinness World Records once cited her for having at least one book on the Times list for 390 consecutive weeks.

All that strangely doesn't calm her. She may have been writing novels since she was 19, but there's an insecurity that remains untouched, no matter the plaudits.

"I still never finish a book without being terrified I can't write another one. I never start one without being terrified I can't finish it," she says. "It's sort of a torturous process."

While it's hard to generalize, Steel's books are usually populated by smart, attractive heroines juggling work, love and family. About one in five are historical, set in, say, pre-Second World War Europe or the Russian Revolution.

Some tackle larger issues, such as homelessness in "Safe Harbour," domestic violence in "Journey," infertility in "Mixed Blessings" and even cloning in "The Klone and I."

"I think the one recurring theme that I didn't used to be aware of is that I try to give people hope," she says. "I think that's so important. Love is wonderful, but hope is more important. Without hope you can't live."

Critics haven't always appreciated the effort, often recoiling from her shallow characters, brand-name dropping and the sugary aftertaste her books leave behind.

No matter - the woman is critic-proof, a Teflon one-woman publishing phenomenon. Steel is a leader of a genre that generated $1.37 billion in book sales in 2006, outselling every market category except religion/inspirational, according to the Romance Writers of America.

How does Steel handle critics? "It's very simple. I haven't read them in years," she says. "My feelings get very hurt when people say mean things about me. The trouble I find is that they don't just criticize the book - they then get nasty personally. And so I stopped reading them."

Her mini-empire also includes 15 children's books, multiple adaptations for TV or DVDs, a volume of poetry and even a perfume from Elizabeth Arden. She was decorated by the French government in 2002 for her lifetime contribution to world culture.

The latest book came out of her head the way most of the others did, with a mixture of happenstance, a keen eye for potential drama and a dose of mystery.

"They just happen. I can't tell you how they come. I hear about an issue that I like or something comes to mind - they always kind of drop out of the sky," she says. "I mean, I was in a closet years ago some putting stuff away and I heard a noise and I suddenly thought, 'A book about a ghost!' So I wrote a book about a ghost and I had to construct this whole elaborate thing to get there."

That book, naturally, became "The Ghost." Another time, inspiration came during a dinner party: Steel was seated next to a friend who confessed that his wife had left him with three young children. It led to the book, "Daddy."

She pounds out all her novels in a tiny office in her San Francisco home, where she lives half the year. (The other half is spent in Paris, where she refuses to work.)

All the books are written on a 1946 Olympia manual typewriter and first drafts are usually done in a punishing 20-hour shift while "dressed in my nighty with my hair sticking up straight."

"There are people who show up nicely dressed, they work from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. I can't do that," she says. "Sometimes I don't leave my house for two or three weeks."

In person, Steel is far more approachable than the woman whose regal photograph appears on her book jackets. Her chestnut hair flows freely and her jewelry sparkles in an understated way. She's a mix of elegant and down-to-earth, a fun rich aunt who might whisk you away for expensive adventures.

Nita Taublib, senior vice president and deputy publisher at Bantam Dell, confesses she didn't know what to expect before she started working with Steel nine years ago.

"From the second I met her, I just felt the warmth from her," says Taublib. "She really is charming and normal and probably the opposite of everything people would expect her to be. She's just a real human being."

The one thing Steel isn't warm about is questions - ironically - about her love life. She has been married and divorced five times but visibly stiffens at queries about them.

Born in New York, she lived through her own parents' divorce and was working in public relations when she was urged by the then-editor of Ladies' Home Journal to write a book, which became "Going Home."

"I tried it. I thought it was a fun idea. And it sold very quickly. And then I wrote five more that nobody ever bought. They're in my basement in a box," she says with a laugh.

Steel, who has seven children and is the stepmother to two more, lifted her cocoon of privacy in 1999 to write "His Bright Light," the chronicle of her son Nick Traina's battle with manic depression and suicide in 1997 at age 19.

The loss of her son and collapse of her fourth marriage soon led to a cause she champions: ending homelessness. She says that when the bottom fell out of her world, she went to church.

"I was praying, 'Who can I help that's more miserable than I am?' And I got this thing in my head, 'Help the homeless.' I was like, 'You didn't understand. Let's try that again. A different message, please?' And it kept coming. So I thought, 'OK, OK.' "

So she travelled the streets of San Francisco and was haunted by what she saw. Steel set up an outreach team called Yo! Angel! and goes out about once every month, incognito, handing out sleeping bags, food and toiletries.

"I can't stop," she says.

Even so, she won't leave her typewriter for too long.

"I'm driven from inside. A story will come to mind and it has to come out, like a frog with a bubble," she says. "I want to work forever. And try to get better forever."

I'm Being Interviewed!

2008-07-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I'm being interviewed tomorrow July 11 at the Romance Room yahoogroup for my story To Love A Knight.

Title: Interview with Author E. Jamie
Date: Friday July 11, 2008
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Location: The Romance Room yahoo group

I'm very muchly excited!!

Click here to join in on the fun: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theromanceroom/

Come Chat With Me Over In The Romance Room!

2008-07-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I'm going to be participating in the Amira Press Author's Day over at the yahoogroup 'The Romance Room' discussing my current release 'To Love A Knight' as well as sharing an excerpt from my steamy new work in progress an outlaw/western erotica novella called 'Redemption' other Amira Press authors will be there sharing their work as well and it promises to be a fun day so join up and swing by!

Title: Amira Press Chat Day

Date: Tuesday July 8, 2008
Time: All Day
Location: The Romance Room
Notes: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theromanceroom/join

The MacGregors: Daniel And Ian-Nora Roberts

2008-07-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

This one had me split down the middle. 'For Now, Forever' I did not enjoy. 'In From The Cold', I loved.

The reason for this split lay in the heroines. I just could not warm to Anna in For Now, Forever, she seemed cold and unyielding even before Daniel even opened his mouth to her. Yes, I get that she encountered a lot of opposition in her life because she was a female who was in the medical profession but even before Daniel voiced his amusement over this, I felt no warmth from her as a character and wondered why Daniel would be drawn to her at all. Her only moments of potential softness came when Daniel was kissing her or they were making love and then the walls could come right back up. It made her seem weak in my opinion. Like she wanted her cake and to eat it too. She wanted her career but didn't want a man to interfere with that except for when she needed an itch to be scratched. Considering the time, and the kind of man Daniel was, I found it perfectly reasonable that he would be taken aback that Anna wanted a career. She was dangling him. In my opinion, if she didn't want a man to interfere with her all important career (because God knows, women can't possibly bend and compromise enough in a relationship to have both) then she should have cut him loose and not put him through hell and frustration for a couple of hundred pages. I skimmed the rest and didn't finish it.

Now Allanna, I adored. In 'In From The Cold' there was a heroine who's reserve about relationships was valid! She's had people she love die in the Culloden wars so when Ian MacGrego comes along, determined to fight for what's his, including Allana, it makes sense that she'd run screaming in the other direction. She was a strong woman, but there was a softness to her that we got to see so that when she succumbs to her feelings for Ian, it's still very much in character for her to do so. Yet this doesn't solve the fear in her heart that she will lose Ian as well so she still pushes him away, and that makes absolute sense. Here is a heroine who is strong, yet still warm and loving and not afraid to show that warmth and love in the face of such imposing fear, not beacuse she has some hang up about men wanting to 'control' her. My only complaint was that the story was too short.

Too Funny!

2008-06-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

Now mind you, I love my romance novels and I love Madeline Hunter's books but this is damn funny!

To Love A Knight Now Available From Amira Press

2008-06-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Guys I'm so excited!!! My short erotica story 'To Love A Knight' has been released today by Amira Press!

I'm using the pseudonym E. Jamie so that my erotica doesn't get confused with my regular fiction.

To Love A Knight is a medieval passionate tale set in the time of innocent maidens and valiant knights. Here's a little PG rated tease:

She had found him a month ago. He lay nearly frozen in the snow, wounded. She had known who he was. Everyone knew who he was. Sir Nikolas, one of the bravest knights in the king’s army. Delia always thought he was the handsomest. Thick blond hair, piercing blue eyes. Strong, hard muscles. She’d seen him in numerous tournaments, and he always winked at her whenever he spotted her in the audience.

She had been on her way home from her work in her aunt’s seamstress shop when she’d come upon his unconscious body blocking her path. Horrified, she had pushed her horse to a run to get her father, and together, they brought Nikolas to the house where her mother, a medicine woman some thought of as a witch, tended to him.

For weeks he burned with fever, the wound festering and becoming infected. Delia sat by his side, helping her mother, praying that God would save him. Finally, one morning, she awoke by his bedside to find his fever had broken. She had wept with relief.

Her parents had left her alone this day. They were confident her virtue wasn’t in any danger because poor Nikolas had yet to regain his energy. He was asleep when Delia walked in to his bedroom to change the dressing on his chest.

Delia liked when he was asleep because she could just stare at the beautiful muscles of his body without him knowing. A few times, she had run her fingers along the smooth tanned chest giddy over the unfamiliar territory of a man’s body. She’d even dared a few peeks “there” when her mother was out of the room.

To download the rest, pick up your own copy here:

http://www.amirapress.com/shop/index.php?m...products_id=139

A Moment For Personal Squee!

2008-06-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Ohhhhhhhh Myyyyyyyyyy Goooooooooooooood!

(ahem) Now that we got that out of the way.

WELL! I've been re-working my smut fics into orginal fics and I thought I'd take a shot at submitting them to different erotica markets.

I got my first acceptance this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They want to take 'To Love A Knight' and publish it as an e-book. I'm so excited I could pee!

I'm sooooooo excited about this. My FIRST PUBLISHED STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll let you guys know when it's available and hopefully you guys will purchase your very own copy!!!!!

Thank you guys so much for your encouragement over the years. I so COULD NOT have made it to this milestone without all of you! (huggies and dances around the room)

A Hilarious Interview With Romance Author Kresley Cole

2008-05-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

Those AuthorTalk girls are a hoot!

Check these kooky girls out here: http://www.authortalk.tv

Romance? Really?

2008-05-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

I recently finished Tilly Bagshawe's 'Showdown' and by the end, I had thrown the book across the room. The story was great, the two leads Milly and Bobby were strong and the passion between them was palpable from the moment they first stepped on to the page together.

So what was wrong with it?

They don't get together until the last page. Literally, the last page. And they never have sex. Well, let me rephrase that. They have plenty of sex, just not with each other. All that simmering sexual tension and longing and the reader gets jipped.

I'm sorry, this does not a love story make. You could even try and explain that this wasn't a genre romance but more a mainstream glitz novel but STILL! After following Milly and Bobby through all these years of wanting each other the reader deserves the payoff of a lovescene. They get one close call. ONE! And that gets interrupted and then we get a tacked on lukewarm 'happy' ending.

Oh no you didn't!

I'm not a believer in 'leaving things to the imagination' or 'what you don't show is sexier' at least not in fiction and certainly not in romantic fiction. If you're taking me on this journey and making me invest my time with this couple, then there better be a payoff and culmination of that journey. There were very explicit sex scenes throughout the novel with subplot characters and even the heroine and the hero's enemy and we don't get to brain bleach that away with a hot lovescene between the hero and heroine???

No cookies for you Ms Bagshawe.

Demon Rumm-Sandra Brown

2008-05-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

Sandra Brown is almost always a sure bet for me. Her stories are always passionate, romantic (not always the same thing) and involving for the reader. I don't think I've been dissapointed yet.

Demon Rumm tells the story of Kirsten who lost her husband, stunt flyer Charles 'Demon' Rumm in a flying accident. She's writing his biography and trying to deal with his death when her world turns upside down with the arrival of Rylan North, a sexy actor with a bad boy reputation who is going to be playing Charles in the movie adaptation of his life. Rylan sets up house with Kirsten all in the name of research for the role and Kirsten does her best to resist his charm and potent sexuality, despite the attraction between them that simmers from day one. As they settle into a fragile co-existence, Kirsten begins to see Rylan's bad boy act for just that, an act and the two grow closer. Rylan's probing of Kirsten and Charles married life brings a lot of friction to the relationship as Kirsten wants to keep certain things from ever coming to light. But Rylan is determined to break down the wals around the woman he has come to love and to earn her trust.

From Chapter Five:

"Kirsten, you're not being rational."
"I'm being rational!" she shouted, throwing off his hands. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"
"Because we've got to talk about what happened in your bed last night."
She drew herself up ramrod straight and said coldly, 'Nothing happened."
Her refusal to acknowledge it sparked his own temper. Belligerently, he thrust his chin forward. "You had your face in my lap. I hardly call that nothing!"

Kirsten's reasons for constantly pulling away from Rylan, despite her obvious attraction to him keep the reader guessing and just when you think you've figured out her motives, the real reason socks you in the gut. I certainly never saw it coming. A definite muse read!

Sandra Brown has written over 70 novels (I think she and Nora Roberts must have sleep overs where they just hang out together and write all night cause these two women must never sleep to be THAT prolific.) She began writing in 1981, (you'd probably find coffee stock went waaaay up since then)

She was born in Waco, Texas and worked as a model and a reporter before becoming a writer. In 2007 she was awarded the Texas Medal Of Arts Awards for Literature.

Visis Sandra's official site here: http://www.sandrabrown.net/index.htm

Read an interview with Sandra here: http://mysterycrimefiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/an_interview_with_sandra_brown

Inner Harbor-Nora Roberts

2008-05-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's official, Nora Roberts is back in my good graces again. In Inner Harbour, there were no women moving back to small towns to rebuild their lives and 'find themselves' by opening up shops. There were no good friends who in the last page for no reason at all suddenly become psycho killers.

Thank you.

My one criticism is that all her heorines sound alike. They all use big sophisticated words like..well...'sophisticated' or 'exclusive' or 'prevalent' etc. I know most of her women are business types, I guess I would just like to see a little more variety in her characters.

But, on to the good. Inner Harbour is the last book in the Quinn brother's trilogy, this one focusing on Phillip who becomes a successful business man after the Quinn's rescue him from a life on the streets. They take in a little boy, Seth who is ten years old but die before they can raise him, so it's up to the three brothers to pick up where their parents left off. A connection between their father Ray and young Seth is discovered when Seth's mother, a money grubbing woman is constantly threatening to take Seth away from them unless they keep paying her off.

Her sister Sybill arrives in the small town where the Quinns live to see how Seth is being looked after and if he is happy. Keeping her identity a secret at first, Sybill meets Phillip and sparks immediately fly.

Raised in a loveless family, Sybill is emotionally cut off and it takes seeing Seth and his loving relationship with the Quinn's to begin to bring her walls down.

Her volatile relationship with her sister is brought to a head when Gloria accuses Sybill of betraying her and siding with the Quinns.

When Phillip and the rest of the Quinn's discover who Sybill is they immediately close ranks around Seth and cut her out, but Phillip is unable to stop his attraction to her that is threatening to develop into full blown love and it's up to Sybill to try and repair her relationship with this family that she has come to love more than her own.

From Chapter 15:

"I'm a big girl. Since it's doubtful that this little incident, however newsworthy will make it across the Atlantic to Paris, she'll get over it."

"Will you?"

"Life moves on. Once the legalities are dealt with, there won't be any motive for Gloria to make trouble for you and your family. For Seth. She will, I imagine, continue to make trouble for herself but there's nothing I can do about that. Nothing I want to do about it."

A cold streak, Phillip wondered, or was it a defense? "Even after the legalities are dealt with, Seth will still be your nephew. None of us would stop you from seeing him or being a part of his life."

"I'm not a part of his life," she said flatly. "And as he makes his life, it would only be distracting and deconstructive for him to have reminders of his life. It's a miracle that what Gloria did to him didn't scar him more deeply. Whatever sense of security he has is due to your father, to you and your family. He doesn't trust me, Phillip and he has no reason to."

"Trust has to be earned. You have to want to earn it."

I'm convinced that Nora Roberts doesn't sleep. Open up the first few pages of any of her novels and you'll see a list of books a mile long.

Born in Silver Spring, Maryland Nora Roberts is the youngest of five children after a career as a legal secretary with questionable spelling skills, she began her career as a writer while snowed in from a blizzard. Her first novel, Irish Thoroughbred was published in 1981.

And I'm sure that 'sleep' was never seen or heard from again.

Vist Nora's Official site here: http://www.noraroberts.com/

Read a great interview with Nora here: http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=296

Nora Roberts I Might Like You Again

2008-04-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

Working on an idea for Harlequin Intrigue, overhauling my Strawberry Wine story into an original fic.

Went to the library today and picked up 2 Harlequin Intrigue's for research:

Borrowed Identity-Kasi Blake

Sudden Recall-Jean Barrett

I'm quite enjoying Inner Harbour by Nora Roberts. I think she might be back in my good graces again. Picked up a MacGregors Anthology book containing 'For Now, Forever' and 'In From The Cold'. Also picked up A Little Fate by Nora Roberts (is she doing paranormals now too? I'm convinced that woman must not sleep) And finally, 'Delivered: One Family-Caroline Anderson' and 'Billionaire On Her Doorstep-Ally Blake' Both Harlequins.

Midnight, Moonlight & Miracles-Teresa Southwick

2008-04-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Teresa Southwick's Midnight, Moonlight & Miracles is a true testament to the healing power of love. Megan Brightwell's had been burned by love when her little girl's father leaves them, unable to cope with their daughter's failing eyesight. She vows to never let a man get close to her again.

Working as a nurse the night that Simon Reynolds is brought in, she tries to fight the attraction to this daredevil who seems to given up on life after losing his ex-wife and little boy in a car accident.

As Megan helps Simon recover from his injuries, love blossoms between the two damaged souls. But Megan is hiding a secret. She has discovered that her daughter's eyesight has been restored thanks to a cornea donation, courtesy of Simon's deceased son Marcus.

Simon's ex mother in law Janet, cares deeply for the grieving man and convinces Megan to keep this knowledge a secret, fearing that Simon will withdraw back into himself if he were to learn the truth.

While I wasn't all that happy with what felt like a needless, contrived complication, the characterization and passion between the two lead characters is strong enough that I stayed with the story and boy am I glad I did.

This story is a strong, emotional love story. The passion sizzles between Simon and Megan and the emotional bond that develops between them and between Simon and Megan's daughter Bayleigh will have you reaching for the tissues a few times.

From Chapter Ten:
He ran a hand through his hair."You're hiding behind the job. This-something-is between you and me. We both know that I'm not victim. I did start it. Because I wanted you. I want you now, and I bet everything I have or ever hope to have that you want me too. So tell me, Megan. What are you running from?
She didn't even want to go there. All she wanted was to let him know how grateful she was. She hadn't actually said the words but didn't actions speak louder?
Before the thought could sink in that there wasn't enough thanks in the world, she grabbed her sweater from the stairway post opposite the front door. "I have to go. Don't take this the wrong way, but I never want to see you in my emergency again."
"Megan-"
"Goodbye, Simon"

Teresa Southwick lives with her husband and two sons in Las Vegas. She was nominated three times for the Romantic Times Readers Choice Award and won in 2006 for her novel In Good Company.

Why I Love Outlander

2008-04-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Oh Jesus. (sniffles)

Forbidden Love-Cheyenne McCray

2008-04-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

If there's one word to describe Forbidden Love it's HOT. HOT!HOT!HOT! Romance and erotica all bound up in one delicious book.

Cheyenne McCray's Forbidden Love is a passionate paranormal (yes, I know, me reccing a paranormal, shocking.) romance that centers around Hawk, a powerful otherworldly warrior and Silver, a modern day witch.

From the moment these two meet, the sparks fly and the passion between them is nothing short of scorching as they work together to stop an unspeakably evil enemy.

From Chapter 24:
"No," The angles of Hawk's face were harsh as he looked down at her. "I won't risk you."
She planted her hands on her slim hips. "It's not all about you or even me. This is about something much bigger."
Hawk's features shifted from anger to torture to something she couldn't read. He brought his hands to her upper arms and stroked her skin through the silk of her shirt, causing her to shiver. "Please, Silver. Don't ask me to let you do this."
She reached up to cup his stubbled cheeks. "I need to. For the good of all witches. For the good of every human in this city. Maybe beyond San Franscisco." She smiled. "Besides, I don't intend to be caught by the bastards."

McCray does a phenomenal job of keeping the excitement and passion at a fever pitch until the final shocking show down.

Cheyenne McCray, winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for Best Steamy Roamnce, has been writing all her life, even so far back as kindergarten. Her dream has always been to have readers get lost in her fantastical worlds. She lives with her husband and three sons and lists movie soundtracks as the very best background music to write to!

Check out her official site here: http://www.cheyennemccray.com/

Read a great interview with Cheyenne Here

Reluctant Captive- Helen Bianchin

2008-04-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's rare that I rec a Harlequin, but I gotta admit that they've really come a long way and seem to be getting better and better.

'Reluctant Captive' still has hints of the old 'arrogant business man/weepy weak heroine who gets bursts of anger and defiance totally out of charcter every once in a blue moon' But there is an actual believable arc of growth for both characters here.

Second time around Kate vowed she would never see Nicolas again--much less share his bed...or his name. But the powerful Sydney businessman was both ruthless and determined--and wasn't above resorting to blackmail to get what he wanted. He wanted his wife! And now Kate was back in the gilded cage that she'd once called home. But in the time that they'd been apart, Kate had grown older and wiser. She had no regrets that their marriage had been one of convenience, but was she so wrong to desire a future filled with love?

While this book was published in 1992 there are hints of change that harlequin was going in a new more realistic and mature direction that make the book rather enjoyable.

Nicolas is still a ruthless tycoon, but you see more of his vulnerablity and Kate admits that she was weak and wrong and immature to walk out on their marriage after believing the gossip columns that claimed her husband was being unfaithful.

When Kate's sister Rebecca gets in trouble with the law and runs away from home and tracks down Nicolas in Sydney, who agrees to help her in return for Kate resuming her role as his wife.

From chapter 2:

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

His features hardened considerably. 'As it stands, Rebecca's records will show that she has commited and been charged with a criminal offence," Nicolas outlined pitilessly. "Something that will be a detrimental factor in whatever career she chooses to undertake." His eyes held hers with dark unwavering scrutiny. "Having talked to Rebecca at length, I am assured by her that her ambition lies in entering the medical profession. Private schooling, clothes, a personal allowance until she qualifies and becomes financially independent."

Her eyes seemed loked with his, their expression filled with pain. "I refuse to allow Esther to assume financial responsibility for Rebecca."

His eyes seemed to sear right through to her soul. "Has it not occured to you that I might choose to become Rebecca's benefactor?'

"At what price, Nicoloas?"

"You. Reinstated in my home, as my wife."

Helen Bianchin does a great job within the formulaic Harlequin plot of pushing the boundaries and allowing for some interesting character growth. The secondary characters frame the couple and work well in making both of them see how they must change and break down their own walls to have a future together.

Helen first worked as a legal secretary in her native New Zealand before marrying an Italian tobbacco farmer in Queensland. After the harsh life proved too much, the family moved back to New Zealand and a family friend encouraged Helen to try her hand at writing. Six years after publishing her first book, the family returned to Queensland where they now reside with their three children and four grandchildren.

Read an interview with Helen Here

Romances: Happily Ever After?

2008-04-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

I got a question for ya'll. Do the romance novels you read have to happy endings? If they don't, do you feel cheated?

I read this one romance novel where it was this black woman in love with this white man and they had all this passion and love between them, and then at the end, she ends up with this black man who is also in love with her but who for 99% of the book she just treats as a friend.

I can tell you, I felt jipped.

But then I read this book 'Secret Vow' by Kathy Cicala about this woman who falls in love with a severly emotionally flawed priest and their love spans decades. In the end, they don't physically end up together as he goes back to the monastary he's been emotionally recuperating at (if I remember correctly) but the love between them is still strong and palpable. That book I loved, even though they don't physically end up together.

I mean, Love Story has got to be one of the most heartbreaking romantic books ever and look how that ended.

There's also Joy Fielding's The First Time where an estranged couple is brought back together when the woman is dying.

So I guess it depends on the circumstances. For the most, I'd say there MUST be a happy ending for me to enjoy a romance novel. But if the ending is done in a satisfying way (and that's really individual for everyone) I can still enjoy a novel where the hero and heroine don't necessarily ride off into the sunset together.

What about you?

The Secret Ever Keeps-Art Tirrell

2008-04-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

LOGLINE
In Art Tirrell's exciting novel, an aging Godfather-like billionaire tycoon regrets a decades-long life of "shady dealings" and seeks reconciliation with a granddaughter who doesn't even know he exists.

CHOICE REVIEW
"Lovelorn Laurel Kingsford finds romance, adventure, a kindly grandfather and a shocking letter on the shores of Lake Ontario."
Kirkus Reviews
ISBN 9781601640048
http://www.kunati.com
Copyright 2007 Kunati Books All Rights Reserved

Looks like an interesting read!

We Need Romance Novels Especially Now

2008-04-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

Desire Surges For Romance Novels

Genre Has 64 Million Readers, Still Growing

Michelle Buonfiglio, Romance Columnist

Kati Dancy is a smart, successful conference planner in her early 30s. She is college educated, has a dog and a cat, and lives in a posh Washington, D.C., suburb.

She also has a not-so-secret addiction: Dancy is an avid reader of romance fiction. "Romance novels are an absolute feel-good," Dancy said. "I'm a romantic at heart. It's a guaranteed happy ending."

According to publishers, booksellers and romance novelists themselves, Dancy is most definitely not alone.

"We sell romances to intelligent adult women with money in their pockets," said Kate Duffy, Editorial Director for Kensington Publishing. "For these women, books aren't a luxury, they're a necessity."

With 64 million readers generating $1.2 billion in annual sales, the romance fiction industry is thriving. Yet, somehow, it hasn't garnered the mainstream acceptance so many other popular fiction genres enjoy.

Many book enthusiasts might identify romance fiction only with stylized book covers, but there's actually an accepted and widely used literary definition. It calls for a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.

"Romance fiction is about the relationship," said Duffy. "It's about the romance being central."

There are dozens of romance novel publishers releasing thousands of titles every year from hundreds of popular writers. Some authors have achieved "rock-star" status with their readers, who are just as much fans.

"The industry remains healthy because its readers are passionate about romance," said Kathy Baker, a romance expert for WaldenBooks. "They come to our stores and don't leave without buying three or four romances by the authors they're unfailingly loyal to."

"I get up to 200 e-mails a day when a book of mine first comes out," said New York Times best-selling romance novelist and Fordham University professor Eloisa James, who has written 10 romance novels that have sold 2.5 million copies.

James is acutely aware of the Internet's influence on the way readers consume and stay informed about romance novels. "The romance genre is very close to the ground," said James. "And the Internet has accelerated that."

For instance, conference planner Dancy, who spends $150 a month on romance novels, visits romance fiction Web sites to investigate what will be on the shelves soon. Add to that the time she spends chatting with authors and readers on romance novel-related blogs, and you have a virtual web of connecting points to the industry.

Because many have never considered romance novels legitimate genre fiction, one might think the world of academia eschews the novels as well. But today, literary scholars see things differently.

"Twenty years ago, academics who studied romance did so as outsiders, often with axes to grind," said Eric Selinger, a professor of English at De Paul University who teaches and studies romance as fiction. "[But] times have changed. In my classes, we read with psychology in mind, or philosophy, or history, especially women's history."

"Even feminists are studying and supporting romance fiction because it is a strong affirmation of women's ability to judge what they find important in life," said author James. But will this study make a difference for a genre that's seen by many as fluff, or pejoratively, as "porn for chicks"?

Perhaps, according to Bill Gleason, a Princeton University professor of English. "(Scholarly study) may gradually help break down stereotypes about romance readers and lead to a broader interest among non-readers."

"Romance fiction is a broad and inclusive genre that appeals to many types of people and personalities," said Allison Kelley, Executive Director of Romance Writers of America.

While the vast majority of romance readers are women, according to RWA, men make up 22 percent of fiction readers who regularly buy romance. The percentage of male readers continues to grow as subject matter and story lines have broadened to include mysteries, thrillers and even novels with Navy SEAL and NASCAR protagonists.

"It's escape fiction in a time of difficult public life," said author James, who counts as avid readers many Vietnam vets recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder. "There's a lot of bad news out there, and escape literature blossoms in a time when the country's at war."

Picked Up Some Books

2008-04-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

Finally went to the library today. Yay! Picked up 4 books:

'The Rose Red Bride-Claire Delacroix

'Demon Rum-Sandra Brown'

'Inner Harbor-Nora Roberts'

'Showdown-Tilly Bagshawe'

Nora Roberts is a bit of more miss than hit for me but the last book I read by her I liked so I figure I'd give her another chance.

We Are Women. Hear Us Roar.

2008-04-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Strong, sexy women save the day, get their man

By Dinah Eng, Special for USA TODAY

Readers of 21st-century romance novels aren't just looking for alpha males to save the day, then marry the helpless damsel. Strong, sexy heroines who save the day and then pick their own man are seducing the romance genre.

Not your average bodice-ripper: The heroines in a new genre of romance novels are smart and tough enough to take down anyone who gets in their way.

Though romance novels remain the top-selling genre of paperback fiction, a dip in sales in the past couple of years — market share was 48.8% in 2003 compared with 54.1% in 1999 — has publishers and authors rethinking the romance-novel protagonist. Enter the kick-butt heroines.

Like the female stars of Charlie's Angels and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, the women in these novels have the physical moves and mental savvy to take down anyone who gets in their way. Stories are plot- and heroine-driven rather than romance-driven, and they are set in contemporary or futuristic settings rather than the Victorian or Regency periods, for example.

Despite dip, love conquers all

Romance fiction sales
Year (in billions)
2003 $1.41
2002 $1.63
2001 $1.52
2000 $1.37
1999 $1.23

Source: Romance Writers of America

Number of titles published
Year Total
2003 2,093
2002 2,169
2001 2,143
2000 2,289
1999 2,523

• Harlequin, the world's largest publisher of romance novels — nearly 110 titles a month — has launched Silhouette Bombshell, a line that features tough women. Recently published Body Double by Vicki Hinze, the 12th book in the series, is the story of a Special Forces captain who must figure out who is cloning government agents.

The Bombshell series grew out of company brainstorming sessions on how to expand the romance genre. After the series launched, "we had a wonderful response from readers who wrote in to our Web site, but it'll take a year to really judge it," says Natashya Wilson, associate senior editor of the Bombshell series.

• Dorchester Publishing, the fourth-largest publisher of romance novels, came out with its 2176 action-adventure romance series in April. Targeting a younger, hipper audience, the books, including The Shadow Runners by Liz Maverick, feature heroines embroiled in a futuristic revolution for freedom.

"Sales are going very well for 2176, " says Christopher Keeslar, senior editor with Dorchester. "Distribution increased every time for the first three books and has plateaued out with the last two books as we approach the Christmas buying season. But we're very pleased. We're launching another series, called Crimson City, next July, which will be a paranormal action series, and will definitely do more if they do as well as we expect them to."

• Avon Books, which offers historical and contemporary romances, does not have lines with specific themes, but it does publish authors who feature physically fit, tough-as-nails women in their stories. "The kick-butt heroine is another incarnation of earlier heroines who have existed in books for a long time," says Carrie Feron, vice president and executive editor of William Morrow and Avon Books. "We don't have lines where we develop a theme. But these heroines exist in our novels, even in historical times."

Says author Suzanne Brockmann, whose latest heroine works with former Navy SEALS to find a terrorist's laptop in Flashback (Ballantine, $6.99), out in paperback today: "I love that the heroines are such fabulous role models for women. They have the soul of the warrior, which is what modern women have to have in order to do what we do.

"The heroines I write about have an unwillingness to quit. When they're in danger, they're going to fight hard."

Heroines such as those in Brockmann's books "are really multi-dimensional and more layered than some in the past," says Linda Marrow, vice president and editorial director for Ballantine Books, another large American publisher of romance novels. "They may be single mothers or divorced, and tremendously accomplished. Their goal is not to be in a couple, but to catch the serial killer.

"They also happen to find love and happiness, possibly kicking and screaming, along the way," Marrow says. "It's a terribly powerful and appealing fantasy, to be very feminine and accomplished, and also very strong."

I knew romance novels were a huge industry but about 2 billion dollars a year? Oh my gravy. And romance novels make up for over half of ALL books sold ever year. That does my romance novel lovin' heart good and makes me want to rub it in the faces of those snobs who put down our kinds of books.

Paranormal Romances & Erotica

2008-04-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

The paranormal romance genre has been huge, maybe so much so that it's flooded the market. A new writer might have a hard time now pitching a paranormal romance to a publisher because they're completely swamped with these kinds of pitches.

I honestly hope the tide is starting to turn because for myself, I was never all that much into the paranormal romance genre. Not to mention that paranormal erotica is even bigger and shows no signs of slowing down. Shapeshifters, werewolves, dragons. I don't get it. The only thing close to paranormal that I enjoy is time travel, but that is still two completely human beings and the supernatural effects are outwardly. I don't understand the appeal of going to town with a guy who turns into something else. Vampires I could kind of understand (has anyone seen the show Blood Ties, Henry Fitzroy! Oh my gravy) But vampires still retain their human form. I don't know that I could be turned on by a man who every once in a while turns into a fuzzy wuzzy.

If you're a fan of paranormal romances and/or erotica, what is the appeal for you?

Read Christina Dodd's 'Priceless' It didn't grab me. I'm currently reading Teresa Southwick's Midnight, Moonlight and Miracles. One chapter in and it's looks promising. I think I'll have a rec coming soon.

The weather has brightened up considerably and I'll be heading to the library on Monday. Am muchly excited.

More About Personalized Romance Novels

2008-04-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, yesterday I posted about the idea of getting your own romance novel written with your own personalized love story. Kathy Newbern of Yournovel.com e-mailed me some more information about what they do. Definitely worth a lookie loo especially with Mother's Day coming up. Perfect for your signficant other's birthday too!

Our company, yournovel.com, started the personalized romance novel genre. Check us out at www.yournovel.com - we are in the U.S. and started this genre in 1992, the original creators! Great with Mother's Day and wedding season coming. We even put your photo on the book covers as an option.

Mom Can Star in Any of yournovel.com's
24 Personalized Romance Novels

"Novel" Gift Idea Comes in "Wild" or "Mild"

APRIL 2008 - RALEIGH, NC -- Does your mom love a good romance novel? Then this is one Mother's Day gift she won't return: put her and her sweetie in their own personalized romance novel, "wild" or "mild."

These customized capers - 24 titles to choose from - are offered in both huggy-kissy "mild" or sexy-sweaty "wild" with more than 20 details about the starring couple crafted from an online questionnaire. Each comes in paperback or hardback, and there's even the option of uploading mom's photo to add to the book's cover.

Among the couple's details featured in each book:
• Hometown
• Places of work
• Eye and hair color
• Best friends' names
• Favorite perfume and cologne
• Favorite music and color
• Affectionate nicknames they have for one another
• How long they've been a couple.

Depending on the title selected, the starring couple finds themselves skinny-dipping in the Caribbean, frolicking under a waterfall, or making love none-too-easily in a swinging hammock. And, because these novels are adventure romances, the couple also find themselves chasing bad guys on wave runners off the North Carolina coast, foiling a stalker on a luxury cruise ship, tangling with a cougar in the wild or fighting off bad guys near Rome's Coliseum.

yournovel.com's founders, Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher, who form the husband/wife writing team Fletcher Newbern, have been penning the novels since they met and fell in love in 1992. This marks their 16th year in business, and together they've written 17 of the 24 titles available. They've been featured in hundreds of radio, TV and newspaper interviews, including this year's Valentine's gift segment on "The Today Show" on NBC. Last year, the company sold more than 6,000 customized novels.

Settings for these personalized novels range from exotic Caribbean islands and cruise ships to dude ranches or ski lodges. New in the lineup are the company's first historical, "High Seas Romance" by Jennifer Price, plus its first detective novel, "Missed Tryst" by Geno Vincenzo. Also writing for yournovel.com is Marcy Thomas, who's penned four books including one of the company's best sellers: "Rome: Diamonds, Danger and Desire." Other top sellers include "Island of Love" set in Tahiti, and "Another Day in Paradise" set in the Caribbean, both by Fletcher Newbern, along with their latest title "Negril Everlasting" set at two Couples Resorts in Jamaica.

"We've been dubbed computerized cupids. What a great job title," states J.S. Fletcher. "Doing the undercover research is half the fun," adds Newbern.

yournovel.com's books range from 150-190 pages and paperbacks cost $49.95 plus $7.00 priority shipping and handling in the U.S. (out of country is $16 shipping/handling). Hardbacks are $94.95. To add a photo is $25 more on either paper or hardback. The fastest way to order is on the web at www.yournovel.com. Those without Internet access can call (800) 444-3356 to have information faxed or mailed.

###

For photos, media review copies, author interviews, more info:
Kathy M. Newbern
(800) 444-3356
knewbern@yournovel.com

Kathy M. Newbern/J.S. Fletcher
a.k.a. Fletcher Newbern
co/owners, co/authors
www.yournovel.com inc.
Personalized Romance Novels
Celebrating 16 Years
3100 Arrowwood Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27604 USA
P. 919.878.0585; 800.444.3356
F. 919.873.1224
C. 919.349.2982
knewbern@yournovel.com
fletch@yournovel.com
"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away..."

Makes A Great Gift Idea

2008-04-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Putting a Personal Twist on Romance Novels

If your sweetheart gets another box of chocolates this Valentine's Day, will you be in the doghouse?

As Feb. 14 approaches, couples all over are scrambling for something besides marshmallow hearts and red roses to give to their beloved. One out of the ordinary choice is to give the one you love a book — but not just any book.

Personalized romance novels, a newfangled twist on shopworn grocery store pulp, are catching on as presents for the romantic holiday. With these campy novels, couples can pay to have their names — and the details of their own love story — woven into the plot of traditional romance.

"We'll have plays on words and bad puns, but they are sold in the tens of thousands," said Kathy Newbern, co-founder of Your Novel, which produces the kitschy copy.

To get their names in print, customers decide on a book — most companies offer several stories to choose from — then fill out a questionnaire with details such as their love's hair color and nickname. The information is inserted into the context of pre-fab story and presto, a personalized romance. In 2002 Don Fox of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., bought the novel "Treasure Seekers" for his wife last Valentine’s Day and included details such as the type of car he drives and his wife Josephine’s favorite radio station in the text.

“It’s something my wife and I will have forever. It’s unique," said Fox, 43. "If you get a box of chocolates, it looks just like the box you got before that one. Then you eat it and it’s gone.”

The novels come in “mild” and “wild” versions and the plots take place in various standard romance novel locales such as a dude ranch and the white sand beaches of Tahiti (search). While their text won't win any Pulitzer Prizes, they offer a quick read and, at $55.95, the books won’t break the bank.

However, some people say they'll never be seduced by the price-friendly page-turners.

"I'd rather spend the $55 on food and a nice bottle of wine and cook for her," said Dale White, 27, of Erie, Pa. "I wouldn't buy a book like that because it isn't original. It seems like a template gift."

Michelle Greene of Long Island, N.Y., agrees that the lovey-dovey tales with happy endings are about as inviting as a thorny rose.

"I wouldn't want [a book like that] as a gift," said Greene, 21, who called the idea "corny." “I'd rather have a guy tell me something from his own heart rather than having someone else write something about me, especially something clichéd.”

But those who produce the books say customers are drawn to the novels for their personal touch.

"It's a sentimental gift," said Michael Pocock, founder of the Canadian-based Book By You Publishing. "We have some of the most romantic customers."

Pocock added that the books aren't just re-hashes. He and his team can spend the better part of a year producing the next syrupy edition in the Romance By You (search) collection. "It is a lot more work than anyone imagined. We take it very seriously."

Customers who have had their stories immortalized in print say the experience is gratifying.

"It was an addictive read because it makes you the star," said Pete Hart, 34, who received a pre-fan novel called "Vampire Kisses" from his girlfriend. "I was referred to as Pedro in the book, which is my nickname. I found that quite charming."

In "Vampire Kisses," Hart's girlfriend also included the name of the restaurant where they met, which had Hart recalling the first days of their courtship.

"It brought back many wonderful memories of the night when I first met my beautiful girlfriend," he said. "It allowed me to see just how much of a sentimental experience our meeting was for her."

And just because the romance industry is often geared toward women doesn’t mean men aren’t enjoying these page-turners too. Though he's not normally a romance fan, Fox said the book his wife gave him had him hooked.

”It read more like a novel or novelette and less like a typical romance novel," he said. "I enjoyed reading it. Besides, I was in it.”

What A Brilliant Idea!

2008-04-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

I bring you Romance Novel TV

http://www.romancenovel.tv/

Now if only we could get THIS to replace all those damn reality shows on the networks.

The Romance Novels

2008-04-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

There's actually a rock back called 'The Romance Novels'

http://www.myspace.com/theromancenovels

They're rather Beatle-esque.

I am muchly amused.

Erotica Or Porn? Potato/Pot-ah-to?

2008-04-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

There seems to have been a big bruhaha over on the romance writers communities over those who write erotica and whether it’s erotica or porn.

I say it depends on who’s reading it. If it’s JoBlo sitting in his basement, giving himself a treat, well, that’s probably porn. (JoBlo isn’t probably ’reading’ but more, looking at pictures on his computer screen) But then I could say that’s not an apt description, cause, if it’s done write, well, erotica is certainly likely to make you...want to play solitaire, as it were.

For some women, ’porn’ is pictures depicting nakedness or sex and erotica is the same thing but in words. So what does that mean about those ’letters’ in Hustler or Penthouse. Is that erotica? Or is it porn because it’s in a porn mag?

You could say it depends on the medium. An erotic story on a porn site, would probably be labelled porn while the same erotic story in a prestigious erotica anthology of stories would be considered erotica.

Sex in an art gallery is art. (mind you, not HAVING sex in an art gallery...though you could say...no, that’s just wrong, people) Sex in a magazine is porn.

(shrugs) I don’t think you could ever get any kind of consensus on this so we need to stop beating each other up about it. Both of them have their place and bitching about one or the other is cutting off your nose to spite your face. We need both in society because they’re both part of our freedoms of expression as human beings and trying to stifle one will result in a snowball effect where we’ll lose the others. So play nice, okie?

I'm very excited as I've passed the presecreener judge in Desdemona's Sex In The Rain contest that I entered. Winners are announced on the 15th.

I'm currently reading Christina Dodd's Priceless. Thoughts?

New Diana Gabaldon Jamie/Claire Novel

2008-03-23T12:27:00.001-07:00

Over at the Diana Gabaldon thread at Books and Writers on Compuserve this little tidbit was dropped. The next Jamie/Claire novel ’The Echo and The Bone’ or something to that effect will be released sometime in 2009.

(does happy Chandler dance)

If you haven’t read the Jamie/Claire novels, you simply must. If you love big ass epic historical and time travel novels these are the meccas! Start with Outlander and prepare to be absolutely enraptured by one of the most powerful romantic, adventerous, involving series known to man er..people.

If you don’t love that first novel and run around like a crack addict looking for the next ones, I’ll eat my feet.

Book Trailers

2008-03-23T12:17:00.001-07:00

Someone keeps mentioning the term 'book trailers' to me and I had no earthly idea what the heck they were talking about. So I mozy on over to youtube and oh my gravy!

A book trailer is exactly what it sounds like. A small movie-trailer type video that authors and/or fans use to promote their books.

How oddly awesome! Type 'book trailers' over in the youtube search box and be amazed, though if you're like me, you'll get lost in there and somehow find yourself looking at funny baby videos again.

Paging Melissa Gilbert!

2008-03-23T11:37:00.001-07:00

Novelist Brown cuts first film deal
By Gregg Goldstein Thu Mar 20, 2:46 AM ET

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - For the first time in her 27-year career, best-selling novelist Sandra Brown has made a movie deal.

TwinStar Entertainment has purchased the option on her 1996 legal thriller "The Witness."
The story centers on idealistic public defender Kendall Deaton, who discovers a dark secret in the forest near her small South Carolina town. It leads her to turn state's witness against her white supremacist ex-husband and father-in-law as she struggles to discover whom she can trust.

Brown, who has written 56 New York Times best-sellers and has 70 million copies of her books in print, has turned down several offers to adapt her books over the years.

"Some excellent books have been made into excellent movies, but just as often the film renditions were bad," she said. "For decades I've been developing a 'voice' my readers recognize and expect." She said that TwinStar executive vice president Lane Shefter Bishop, who will serve as one of the producers of the film, "approached me with a full understanding and appreciation of that voice."

The film will be one of the first features from TwinStar, which owns a library of original stories and options on film and literary properties aimed at a wide audience.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! This makes me all squee inside because I love most of Sandra Brown's books (mostly her early stuff) and I can't wait to see this on screen.

I know Melissa Gilbert (if you don't know who she is, I'll cry. Half-pint, people!) has a reputation for doing a lot of TV novel adaptations so I wouldn't be surprised if she gets the lead in this.

Or Jaclyn Smith. (I'll make YOU cry if you tell me you don't know who that is. Charlie's Angels, people! No NOT the Cameron Diaz version, get out of here!)

Either way, I'm happy Sandra's getting her shot at the big screen. I know when I get my novel optioned for film, (see that?: WHEN. How optimistic am I? Or delusional. Potato/Pot-ah-to) I already have the casting filled out in my head. But I know most writers don't get a say in casting and that makes me grr. Still, I have suggestions and I will just tie them to a chair and make them listen. See? I'm a good negotiator.

My favorite Sandra Brown book is Breath Of Scandal. Frakking awesome, heart pounding, powerful stuff. This woman gets gang raped and takes her revenge on the men. Start with this one if you haven't read her before.

Preach It Sister

2008-03-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

Jina Bacarr, author of The Blonde Geisha for Harlequin Spice talks about how romance novels are not the same as porn and how to deal with people putting down the romance genre. A great clip. She's a hoot!

Romance Novels Getting Steamier

2008-03-04T11:34:00.001-08:00

Romance Novels Growing Steamier

by Paula Ebben

(CBS4) If you've checked out the romance section of the bookstore lately, then you may have noticed that writers are turning up the heat. There is a growing demand for steamier stories.

"Deep dark and dangerous."

"Sexy beast."

"Hard stuff."

These aren't your grandmother's romance novels. Love stories are getting a sexy new makeover.

The writers behind these steamy books may surprise you. Take Penny Dawn, the suburban mother of two who's firing up the mac and cheese one minute, and turning up the heat at the computer the next.

"I wrote 'Measuring Up' with Dora the Explorer on in the background," Dawn says. "It's strictly business."

Dawn, who has published one erotic romance and has several more in the pipeline, says the story still comes first. But now you'll find a lot more of what happens between the sheets between the pages.

"Women demand more than just a cheap thrill. They need the whole package," she says.

Graphic sex talk has ignited sales. Major publishers are introducing new, spicier romance lines. Even harlequin is getting into the game.

"Romance is getting younger and younger audience, and they are looking for stories that push the edge a little bit, that pushes the boundaries."

Authors and publishers are quick to point out that this is not porn, that these sexy tales have romance and a story as well.

Romance Novel Myths

2008-03-03T10:57:00.000-08:00

Of supple breasts and manly chests

By Melissa Hank

Call it twit lit, bodice-rippers, supermarket trash or smut, but chances are you won’t sway the more than 60 million women in North America who read romance novels at least once a week.

“These are really smart savvy businesswomen who really love what they do,” says director Joanna D’Angelo. “And [readers are the] exact opposite from the cliché notion of bored housewives.”

So in the spirit of busting myths – and mythical busts – we chatted with the three Canadians featured in the doc. The result? A scandalous unraveling of eight romance novel myths, and insight into the women who pen them.

Myth #1: Romance novels say women need men to complete their lives
Kelly Boyce: Riiight. [Laughs.] They’re more about two people finding each other and making the relationship work on their own terms.
Kathryn Smith: Romance novels are very much meant to be empowering for women, because these women are often faced with difficult circumstances and they do come out on top.

From Hamilton, Kayla Perrin sent her first book to a publisher at the age of 13
Myth #2: Romance novels are all about sex
Kayla Perrin: I hate when people say to me, ‘Oh you write those smutty books!’ If you have extraneous sex, like a clearly gratuitous sex scene in a movie, readers don’t appreciate that.
KB: There are varying levels of love scenes – from the ones where it doesn’t go beyond a kiss, to the ones that are more erotic. I’m middle-of-the-road, but when I give the manuscript to my parents to read, I usually mark certain areas NC-17 just so they’re forewarned. [Laughs.]
KS: With my first book, I worried about what my grandmother would say. But, God love her, my grandmother used to work in a condom factory, so… [laughs.]

Myth #3: A romance writer is rolling in money
KS: [Laughs convulsively.] Yes, I don’t work at all. They just drive a truck up to my door and say, ‘Here you go,’ and I answer it in my feather boa! I know writers who’ve been doing this longer than me who still have full-time jobs.
KB: I think romance writers, as opposed to those in mainstream fiction, are at the lower end of the scale – which is a little ridiculous considering the market we have. I think of all books sold, 45 to 48 per cent are romance.

Myth #4: Romance novels aren’t written well
KP: Argh! Where are you getting these? Harlequin gets about 60,000 unsolicited manuscripts per year, and they maybe publish five. If anyone could write them, a lot more people would be published.
KS: The crux of the romance novel is conflict, the force that drives any good novel. So instead of being lesser writers, I may almost be arrogant to say that I think that we’re some of the best writers in commercial fiction next to mystery writers, because everything hangs on that plot.

Myth #5: All romance novels are the same
KB: Uh, no. No more than all mysteries are the same or thrillers are the same. There are different subgenres, and everybody tells the story differently. About the only thing that’s the same is that it’s based on a relationship and you get a happy ending.
KS: And if you don’t have the happy ending, you’d be crucified by romance readers! Romance novels are the same in that all socks are the same because they go on a foot. [Laughs.]

Kathryn Smith holds a journalism degree from Holland College in Charlottetown
Myth #6: All romance readers are dimwitted housewives
KP: Dimwitted housewives – oh, that hurts! One study proved that the average romance reader is a college-educated woman who works.
KS: That’s not to say there aren’t male readers, and a lot of men write under female names. I had a mother buy a book for her 15-year-old son. She said, ‘If he’s going to be curious about sex, I would like him to read about it in the context of a monogamous relationship.’ Much better than Penthouse, right? Not that I have anything against Larry Flint – I don’t want to get sued!

Myth #7: Romance writers can’t hold down relationships
KB: Ha. Well given that I’m chronically single, I’m probably not the right example [chortles]! But it definitely gives me perspective on relationships that I’m not sure I would have otherwise.
KS: I’ve been with the same man for over 11 years, and we’re very open. He reads my books.
KP: I happen to be a single mother, but I left relationships that weren’t good for me. And I think I epitomize the romantic heroine in that I’m someone who believes she has to be strong and stand on her own and does not need a man. And yet I still believe in the power of love and hope that I will meet Mr. Right, whom I will settle down with and stay with forever.

Myth #8: Reading and writing romance novels is shameful
KS: It’s awful, but people think that way. I hear women talking about putting book covers on their books because they don’t want anyone to see what they’re reading.
KB: I think it’s the bad rap that it got originally, the whole bodice-ripper thing. People said it was porn, and that’s not what it’s about at all.
KP: Romance writers are saying, ‘I get to tell stories about hope and love and empowerment for a living.’ And there’s nothing shameful about that.

Published: Monday, March 5, 2007

Interview w Laurell K. Hamilton

2008-02-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

Now, I'm not much of a paranormal romance fan, (I know it's all the rage now but...meh) but I really admire her persistance to sticking to her guns.

http://writersdigest.com/articles/interview/laurell_k_hamilton.asp

Her Scandalous Marriage-Leslie La Foy

2008-02-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

In the style of Julia Quinn and Victoria Alexander; Leslie LaFoy's 'Her Scandalous Marriage' is a wonderful mix of humour, sexiness and pure romance.

Caroline Dutton is the eldest of three illegitimate daughters of a lord. She has worked hard to retain her respectability and independence as a successful dressmaker. Then handsome Drayton MacKenzie walks into her shop with a proposal that threatens to shake her entire world.

Great-nephew to Caroline's father, Drayton can only collect his inheritance (along with a title of duke that he doesn't want) by turning Caroline and her sisters into proper ladies and marrying them off.

His task proves easiest with Caroline as her two younger sisters have led rather dismal, boredline abusive existences compared to her and I'm sure that LaFoy is going to engage us with their stories in later books, but it's Caroline that Drayton is the most reluctant to succeed marrying off due to their growing feelings for each other.

Leslie LaFoy has worked in both public service televsion and as a police liason officer before turning to writing full time. She lives in a small town in Kansas with her husband of twenty years, David and their teenage son.

Visit Leslie's official site Here

Diana Gabaldon Interview Clips w Poisoned Pen Press

2008-02-20T11:07:00.001-08:00

McKettrick's Pride-Linda Lael Miller

2007-12-02T09:37:00.001-08:00

The McKettrick Men series is among the very best romance series out there. Manly men, cowboys, but also men who know how to love their women.

Rance McKettrick is an ex-rancher who's thrown himself into the business world and buried himself in his work since the death of his wife. Left alone with two daughters, Rance does everything he can to distance himself from his daughter's, leaving them with his mother in law during his frequent business trips, and the painful memories they remind him of. He's shut himself off emotionally.

Enter Echo Wells, a beautiful, smart, spitfire of a woman, blazing a trail into town in her hot pink V.W Bug. She breaks down all of Rance's defenses and has her heart stolen by both him and his daughters.

The attraction between them is instant and powerful and while Echo has her own reasons to be wary of loving again, the two of them can't resist the pull between them.

From Chapter Six:
"Echo,"he said.
She forced herself to look at him.
"Relax," he told her. "Nothing's going to happen until you're ready."
She bit her lower lip, trying to hold back her response. It popped right out of her mouth anyway. "But it is going to happen."
He smiled. Took the coffee pot out of her hand and filled it with water. "I think so," he said easily.

Linda Lael Miller grew up in Northport, Wa, the quintessential cowgirl. Daughter of the town marshall, Miller knows the world she writes about because she's lived it. Her setting's are vivid, alive and even though her success as a writer has enabled her to travel all over the world, it's home where her talents really shine.

Every year she sponsors the Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women which enables women 25 and over to improve their lives through education.

Visit Linda's Official site: Here

Read an Interview with Linda: Here

Nora Roberts On CNN

2007-11-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

Interview and Vid Clips

Spell Of The Highlander- Karen Marie Moning

2007-11-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

Karen Marie Moning's Highlander books are huge delicious plates of passion. You devour them. You'll be enthralled by them. She's that good. You've got alpha males and strong women coming together and coming together. Her writing is exciting, funny and oh my gravy is it ever hot!

Spell Of The Highlander tells the tale of Jessi St.James, an archaelogy student who appropriates an ancient mirror that just happens to have an ancient warrior stuck inside it. And that isn't even the bad news. Cian McKeltar has been trapped inside the thing for over eleven centuries and there's a very very very very bad man who wants the mirror back.

From Chapter 10:
She blinked. Heavens but the man could move fast! She sat up, looking dazedly around. "Where did you go?" she said breathlessly.
"Behind you, woman," came the tight, furious reply.
She glanced over her shoulder. He was inside the mirror, propped in the corner, breathing hard like he'd been running a race. She was panting herself, she realized. Her lips were swollen, she had the sting of rug burn beginning on her spine and her nippled throbbed.
Why was he in the mirror? For that matter, how had he gotten in the mirror? She gaped at him, bewildered.
"It reclaims me after a time," he said flatly.
She continued gaping. "W-without preamble?" she stammered. "Just like that?"
"Aye. 'Twas not my choice to leave you in such a fashion." His gaze dropped sharply and fixed there. "Och, Jessica, you've a beautiful ass. Nigh worth living a thousand years to see."

The tale is an exciting mix of danger, passion and the sweetest love story. After reading one of Karen Marie Moning's books, you will be on a quest to hunt down everything she's ever written.

Karen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Purdue with a BA in Society and Law (why is it that a lot of potential lawyers run screaming and eventually become writers I wonder?)Though she stuck it out for 10 years before running screaming towards Writer-ville. Beyond The Highland Mist was her first published novel after many attempts. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband Neil and has won many awards including the coveted RITA.

Her ideal writing day begins at 4:30 am. That's right. In the morning. I admire people who can get up that early and be productive. Me? If I'm up at 4:30 in the morning, rest assured it's because someone is breaking into my house. Her advice to aspiring writers is a take on the famous quote: 'work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, dance like there's no one watching' and her own addition: 'write like there are no critics'.

Visit Karen's Official site: Here

Read a great interview with Karen Here

A Place To Call Home-Deborah Smith

2007-11-24T18:23:00.000-08:00

Deborah Smith's 'A Place To Call Home' is a powerful love story that starts as a sweet tale of an odd ball friendship between two children. Wrong side of the tracks Roan Sullivan and feisty, sweet Claire Maloney. Raised in a loving, socially prominent family, Claire befriend's the poor boy raised in a trailer park by an abusive father. She's determined to fix all the wrongs in the world and she believes that she can help Roan by showing him how to believe in himself the way she believes in him.

The Maloney's take Roan into their home and for a while, Roan blossoms under their love.

From Chapter 6:
He shook his head. "I don't know about that, Claire. I don't know how to live with nice people." He paused. "I ain't got noplace else to go if this don't work."
"Hey boy," I said with tears catching at my voice. "You're doing fine. I'll help you. You can ask me any questions you want to. I'll help you figure out how to act!"
"Little peep," he tossed back.
"Smile," I ordered.
He did, slowly, awkwardly, because he hadn't had much practice. He had his new tooth and it was a fine tooth, straight and even with the rest. I studied him and tried to appear nonchalant. He looked great. Handsome. He had a better smile than Donny Osmond and all the BeeGees put together. "Yeah, you look okay," I pronounced casually."Don't get a big head over it." But I was so pleased I couldn't say another word.

But then Roan's father returns and in a single act of violence, rips apart all that Maloneys, Claire and Roan have built.

Two decades later, Claire is still determined to fix the world but her vision is now tainted by the belief that she couldn't save Roan, who guilt ridden, dissapeared from their lives.

When Roan returns after Claire is in an accident, the two friends have now become adults and the pull between them has turned to passion. But old wounds still threaten to ruin any chance they have for happiness.

A Place To Call Home grabs you from page one and you're enthralled with the sweetness of Claire's determination to make the world a better place by her sheer belief and your heart breaks for Roan, who gets a taste of happiness only to have it cruelly ripped away from him.

Deborah Smith is a former news editor whose novels are usually set in the Appalachian South. She's written over 30 romance novels. She's won numerous awards and founded BelleBooks, a small southern press.

She lives in North Georgia with her husband of 27 years and numerous animals.

Visit Deborah's Official site: Here

It's In His Kiss-Julia Quinn

2007-11-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

Sexy. Emotional. Engaging. And Pee-Your-Pants Funny. Those are all staples of Julia Quinn's beloved historical romances. She raises the bar yet again with 'It's In His Kiss' The story of Gareth St. Clair and the positively charming Hyacinth Bridgerton.

When Gareth's detestable father sets out to squander his son's inheritance and the famil estate, all Gareth has left is an old family diary, written in Italian. Gareth is forced to hire the shockingly outspoken, intelligent and beautiful Hyacinth to translate it. This leads to late night adventures, hilarious mishaps and more than one or two stolen kisses.

From Chapter 9:
"I just need to get my fingers under the edge," she whispered.
"Go ahead," he said, smiling for the first time all night.
She twisted immediately around. "Why do you suddenly sound so equable?" she asked suspiciously.
"Just appreciating your usefullness."
"I-" She pursed her lips together. "Do you know, I don't think I trust you."
"Absolutely you shouldn't," he agreed.

Julia's books are fun. Plain and simple. You can not read her books with out smiling which could be rather embarassing when you're sitting on the bus, but you'll be too engaged in the story to care.

After much frustration over what she wanted to do with her life, Harvard senior Julia Quinn convinced herself that she was going to be a doctor. Deciding she needed to do something with herself during the interim work she would have to do before she could even enter medical school, she looked at a recent romance she had been reading and decided that she could write one too. Two years later as she was deciding which medical school to go to, her agent called and told her there was a bidding war for the first two books she had written. Medical was put off for a year. The more books Julia wrote and sold, the more years medical school got pushed back. It finally began to dawn on her that maybe medical school wasn't all that right for her since this writing thing seemed to be taking off.

Lucky for us.

She's been profiled in Time magazine, earned numerous finalist slots at the RITA awards and earned a reputation for writing some of the best dialogue writing in the romance genre. Her writing is described as full of warmth and humour.

Julia lives in the pacific northwest with her family.

Visit Julia's official site Here

Read a great interview with Julia Here

Read Romance On Your Cell Phone!

2007-11-22T14:21:00.001-08:00

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3040451&page=1

At Home With Jackie Collins

2007-11-22T14:17:00.001-08:00

Summer At Willow Lake-Susan Wiggs

2007-11-22T14:08:00.001-08:00

Susan Wigg's Summer At Willow Lake is a heartwarming story about family and the enduring power of love.

Back home to renovate the old family resort for her grandparents anniversary, Olivia Bellamy is forced to hire Connor Davis to do the job. He was her first love and their teen romance s played out in a backdrop against the current rekindling of the flames of passion between them. He broke her heart, but neither had ever stopped loving the other and Wigg's does a lovely job of weaving in the sweetness of the past with the promise for the future.

From Chapter 13:
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know. How about, 'Sorry to hear that'?"
"I'm not sorry to hear it."
"What?"
"If any of those engagements had worked out, you'd be married now, and that would mean I'm standing here lusting after a married woman."
His bluntness took her breath away. "You're lusting after me?"
He laughed. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Who says lusting anymore?"
"Pretty much any guy who's being honest."
An unbidden spasm of response reverberated through her but she quelled it. "What a treat."
"It take it that's a no."
"With a capital N. God, Connor. Why would I want to be your girlfriend?"
"So we can hang out, have some laughs, make love in every conceivable way and then some."
She nearly choked on her lemonade.

Susan Wiggs self published her first novel at the age of eight, based on the adventures of herself and her siblings.

After university she became a math teacher and one sleepless night, dying for something to read but finding nothing available, she decided to take up the task herself. Her first novel was published in 1987. She has received 2 RITA awards. She lives on an island in the pacific northwest with her family.

Visit Susan Wiggs' official site Here

Read a great interview with Susan Here

Somebody's Baby-Elaine Kagan

2007-11-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

The good girl/bad boy romance is almost always a sure fire winner for readers. I think the love for the bad boy is ingrained in the female DNA. We can bring out the love in him, we can show the world that he is really a good man, just misunderstood. In fiction, done well, this can quiet those 'feminist', social voices of the 21st century that tell us no woman can change a man and that the bad boy will only bring us down...and put us on an episode of COPS where we're shouting obscenities at him as he's being dragged out of our trailer in handcuffs.

That's why the wifebeater is such a sexy item of clothing. It's usually being worn by a delicious looking man in a pair of jeans.

We don't like to think about how the name originated.

In romance, the bad boy is really just a good boy who's been hardened by life and needs the love of a good woman to bring make the good in him flourish again. It works to perfection in Elaine Kagan's Somebody's Baby.

Jenny Jaffe meets Will McDonald when he's pumping gas in her mom's car. Their eyes meet through the windshield and the attraction is instant. Jenny is a good Jewish girl, and has been raised to stay clear of everything Will represents, but against society's objections the two fall in love. Her friends are appalled. Not only is Will a recently released convict, but he's a gentile. But Jenny doesn't care. Her love for Will is pure and with her, he begins to hope that his life can actually be good and that he can be better than what he always believed he would turn out to be.

When Jenny's parents find out about the romance, they stop at nothing to tear the two lovers apart. When Jenny finds herself pregnant, Will promises he will take care of her and that they will run away and be together forever. Your heart breaks for these two because of how desparately they really want nothing more than to just love each other in a world that says they do not belong together.

"I won't give you up, Jenny. I love you."
"Will..."
"They'll separate us,"
"No they won't.
"Yes they will," he says and pulls his head back. "They can and they will. But not if we're married, they can't hurt us if we're married."

The fan makes its half circle and blows hot air across the top of us, chills the sweat on my neck and I shake. The piece of hair falls back in Will's face. I lift my hand to touch it, his face now six inches from mine. His eyes don't blink as he speaks.

"Marry me, Jenny," he says and the horn honks again and the shade flaps hard as if it's angry and I distinctly hear a drp of water from the kitchen faucet hit the soaking frying pan in the sink and my eyes don't blink either and I don't even know if I'm happy or sad. I just hold on to him and I say, "Yes, Will."

In a final act of cruelty, Jenny's parents prevent Will from meeting her at the appointed place and Jenny is left thinking Will has abandoned her. They ship her off to a home for unwed mothers where they force her to give up the baby.

Will and Jenny's daughter grows up and searches for her birth parents, bringing Will and Jenny together again for a final confrontation.

Elaine Kagan is also the author of The Girls and Blue Heaven. She lives in Los Angeles with her daughter, Eve.

A Romance Writer And Proud Of It-An Interview w Jane Porter

2007-11-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Nov/16/il/hawaii711160327.html

Diana Gabaldon Talks About Her Writing

2007-11-18T08:56:00.001-08:00

The Last Honest Woman-Nora Roberts

2007-11-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Nora Roberts,
Thank you for writing books I can actually enjoy again. I had given up on Nora Roberts after too many books where the woman is escaping her problems by returning to her old hometown and opening up a shop and falling in love with a hunky guy of course.

And her romantic suspense novels were always let downs for me, the killer tossed in in the last chapter for shock value with no build up or hints for the reader to figure it out at all so I figured I was done. No more Nora Roberts for me.

But people kept praising her and I remembered loving her romances back in the day so when I saw The Last Honest Woman and the blurb peaked my interest, I thought I'd give Nora one more chance.

I'm thrilled I did because The Last Honest Woman is a gorgeous book. I was cautious and skeptical as I began reading, waiting for the second the plot would let me down cause that's where I think Ms Roberts had lost her way, too many recycled story lines, too many similar heroines. My only complaint with The Last Honest Woman is that Dylan, the writer hired to do a tell-all on a deceased jackass race car champion starts of coming off as a jackass himself and then turns into Mr Nice Guy. While I appreciated the transformation and Dylan becomes the quintessential gorgeous man's man, changed by love for Abby (the jackass reace car driver's widow) and her children. The transition just wasn't pulled off all that well.

Abigail, thank God, did not open any shops. She was a strong woman, battered by circumstance and her own stubborness who found the strength within herself to go on and raise her children. She falls in love with Dylan despite her fears. They heal each other and become stronger people together.

Nora Roberts is the youngest of 5 children and the only girl and was born in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Stuck in a blizzard in 1979, Nora decided to pick up a pen to try and alleviate the boredom. Her first book Irish Thoroughbred was published in 1981.

Visit Nora's official site Here

Read a great interview with Nora Here

The Best Of Jaid Black-An Ellora's Cave Anthology

2007-11-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

I'd always heard about Jaid Black and certainly knew what Erotica was but I had never sat down and read an erotic novel cover to cover and definitely not one from the extremely talented pen of Jaid Black. I had caught little snippets of her stuff here and there online but it wasn't until I began hearing about Ellora's Cave and learning about this erotic publisher that I picked up one of Jaid's novels.

Boy does this woman EVER know how to write sex. I'm a lover of dialogue in my fiction and realized that this carries over into the erotica world as well. Hearing the passion the characters are experiencing is hotter than just describing the act (hot though that can be if written well.)

She makes me wanna write better smut, which comes at a great time cause I'm planning some shtupping for Fruits Of Their Labours. Be prepared for total Jaid Black rip-off-ed-ness.

I've picked up a few Ellora's Cave novels (they have e-book editions as well but I like the tactile-ness of books) and if they're as good as The Best Of Jaid Black, I'm gonna They have a 3-book anthology of Jaid Black's work, Tremors, The Obsession and Vanished and I devoured all three tales. My personal favorite if I had to chose was Tremors. A passionate woman, a tortured hero and, oh my gravy, the sex. The scenes started off as seduction on Frederik's part but as he and Marie fall more in love and in need with each other, the sex scenes change as well, taking on a sense of visceral desparation.

If you've never read erotica, let Jaid Black's work be your initiation, thus far, I can't say there's a better teacher.

Jaid Black is the pseudonym for Tina M. Engler, founder of Ellora's Cave. A publishing magnate who's been featured in Forbes magazine and owns controlling shares in numerous publishing companies. She was self made millionaire by the age of 30 and a multimillionaire by the age of 32. (this woman is my God!) But it's been a hell of a hard road for Ms Black.

Pregnant at 17, Jaid spent 8 hard years raising her daughter while she worked and went to school. She's a staunch advocate for women on welfare, having lived through it herself and advises helping women rise out of poverty instead of cutting off the aid altogether, which helps no one! She's also very passionate and does much work for prisoner's rights.

She is happily(no surprise there, huh?) married with two daughters and about 5 dogs. So far.

Visit Jaid Black's official site: Here

Read a great interview with Jaid here: http://www.absolutewrite.com/novels/jaid_black.htm

The Days Of Eternity- Gordon Glasco

2007-11-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

A rarity in the romance world is a male writer. Sure, there are men that write romances, but usually they use pseudonyms because the general consesus is that men know bupkiss about romance.

Though who these women are supposed to be romanced by, if not men, hasn't really been addressed, but I digress.

Back in 1983, Gordon Glasco came out with Days Of Eternity, a powerful, absolutely unforgettable tale of passion and heartbreak. I don't think there was one other man in the 1980's who wrote novels like this. I think if he'd come out now, his books would be flying off the shelves because men supposedly are more in touch with their emotions these days.

I admit that with the exception of Nicholas Sparks, I'm a bit ambivalent about men who write romances. It's a knee jerk, completely ingrained and illogical reaction, I know. But my initial thought is just, it just won't measure up to what a woman would write.

With Days Of Eternity, I could easily put it up against anything by Danielle Steel, and Mrs Steel would come out wanting.

The story follows Anna and Karl, secret lovers in Tuscany during WW2. Their romance must be kept secret because Karl is an officer in Hitler's army that has taken over Anna's village. Glasco gives a different, more human picture of the German soldier. They weren't all monsterous baby killers who gassed jews. They didn't all believe in Hitler's insanity.

But they were soldiers. Their whole lives were dedicated to serving their country, regardless of what yahoo is at the helm (I'm sure MANY people can relate to this today) Therein lies the conflict and Glasco writes Karl perfectly. He's a man torn between love, integrity and duty.

From Chapter 3:
"Last night I should have told you the truth. We're not leaving."
"Why?"
"We were ordered to stay."
"Fifty men against a whole army?" Pushed by anger into sarcasm, she added, "If Hitler told you to go jump off the Reno bridge, would you do it?"
"Anna."
"What does he expect you to do with fifty men? You can't win! You will all be killed!"
He knew before he spoke that it was only a remote possibility. "I've asked for reinforcements; they'll send what they can."
"And then what?" She tried a different tack. "You'll make the Americans fight for Montefalco. They'll send airplanes. They'll bomb us like they bombed San Lorenzo last night-" she realized she had said more than she should know. Piero had told her of San Lorenzo. "They'll bomb Montefalco, they'll kill everyone and for what?" She saw that he had paled. "If you stay here we will all die!"
"I cannot give an order to retreat without permission from the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht." The use of the full German name seemed to give credibility to his words, easing his shame.
"Which is more important, Carlo, dying for Hitler or living for me?"

When Karl is forced to carry out an excution where members of Anna's family are killed, the lovers are torn apart.

Anna is a strong, passionate and deeply loving woman, fiercely loyal and it's that loyalty that ties her to Karl even after his enforced betrayal, it's also what keeps her unable to forgive him.

Guilt ridden and broken, Karl leaves the military, becoming a priest and Anna tries to start a new life, raising her son, Karl's son.

When they meet again, 25 years later, old wounds are re-opened and the love that has never diminished between Karl and Anna burns brighter than ever.

Gordon Glasco is a former Jesuit who lives in Los Angeles and has been commended for his ability to create memorable characters.

The Wedding-Julie Garwood

2007-11-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

Julie Garwood is a can't miss if you're looking for a sweet, passionate romance with endearing heroines and manly men heroes. Thrown in a dash of danger and you have a wonderfully winning combination.

The Wedding is the romantic tale of Brenna and Connor. As a child, Brenna worships the older Connor and proposes to him. As they grow up and follow separate paths, Brenna becomes betrothed to another, believing there's no hope in holding on to her dream of marrying Connor after he never replies to the letters she writes him. Connor returns and kidnaps her, reminding her that she's already promised to him.

His motives are not romantic by any means. His father is murdered and Connor vows revenge on the man that killed him, learning that that man is none other than Brenna's current betrothed. Connor tricks Brenna into marrying him as the ultimate insult against Brenna's fiance.

The wedding scene is one of the most hilarious ever written as Brenna does everything to stall, including coming up with every sin she could think of to confess to the priest.

From Chapter 5:
"I thought you were sleeping," she whispered.
"I cannot rest until you do,"
"Why is that, Connor?"
He liked the way she said his name in such an intimate familiar way. God, he was weary. He had to be to be thinking of such foolishness now.
"I'm responsible for you, that's why. What were you doing? You were gone a long time."
He knew exactly what she had been doing, of course. The proof of her weeping still lingered in her eyes and the only reason he'd asked the question was to see if she would admit her weakness to him.
"I was crying like a baby. Why does that amuse you?"
"I smiled because you told me the truth."
"I always try to tell the truth. Lies become to complicated. Do you always walk around without any clothes on?"
She sounded worried about the possibility. "Only when I'm chasing after inconsiderate wives," he answered.
"Why did you marry me?"
"I'll explain tomorrow." He started to turn, intending to drag her back to bed but she stopped him by tugging on his hand.
"You promised me you would explain directly after our marriage was blessed. You don't believe I'll like hearing the truth, do you? Could that be the reason you're putting it off?"

Garwood has a great ability to balance humor and passion. Born in 1946, in Kansas, Missouri, she is the author of over 25 romance novels. After a tonsilectomy at the age of 6, Julie was a sickly child for years, missing much school and falling behind and leaving her unable to read. A math teacher took one summer and taught Julie how to read, imparting in Julie a love for the written word.

While studying to be an R.N, Julie took a Russian history course and her professor was so impressed with her essays that she convinced Julie to take a year off to write. The result was Garwood's first novel, a children's book and a historical romance.

In 15 years of writing, by 2000, Garwood had penned 15 New York Times Bestsellers and has 30 million copies of her books in print.

She's recently ventured away from her historical romances into romantic suspense but she has still kept her characters focus on family relationships. This new direction has been met with mixed reviews and many of her historical romance fans live for the day she returns to the genre that made her a household name.

Visit Julie Garwood's official site. Here

Read an interview with Julie Here

The First Time-Joy Fielding

2007-11-07T08:37:00.000-08:00

If Nicholas Sparks was a woman, he'd be Joy Fielding. The First Time is a poignant, realistic tale of love, forgiveness and hope.

Mattie and Jake Hart have reached the end of their marriage. After years of unfaithfullness Jake has moved out to live with his new girlfriend and Mattie is forced to deal with their angry teenager daughter and a broken heart. Then fate deals her another crushing blow: She is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. A guilt ridden Jake moves back in to take care of Mattie and try to repair his relationship with their daughter Kim, knowing that he will be all she has after Mattie is gone. In the process, Mattie and Jake begin to remember why they fell in love with each other in the first place and rebuild their relationship.

From Chapter Twenty:
"You were gone. You were starting a new life. And then Lisa called us into her office and announced I was-" Maggie stumbled, quickly regrouped. "Dying," she said forcing the word out of her mouth. "I'm dying," she repeated, still waiting for the word to make sense.
Jake reopened his eyes, waited for her to continue.
"That's not easy for me to say," Mattie said. "It's even harder for me to believe. I mean I keep telling myself that it's not possible. How can I be dying when I'm only thrity-six years old?"
Jake said nothing for several long seconds. "Tell me what you want me to do," he said finally. "I don't know what you want me to do."
"Why did you come back, Jake?" Mattie asked again.
"I felt I should be here," he said as he had said before. "For you and for Kim. We discussed this. You agreed."
"I changed my mind."
"What?"
"It's not enough," Mattie said simply. "I need more."

Joy Fielding sent her first story out for publication at the age of 8 years old. Though it was rejected, Joy kept writing, though she took a turn as an actress after university, appearing in an episode of Gunsmoke and getting to kiss Elvis Presley. Writing stayed in the background and when she returned to Toronto, she took it up seriously, penning her first novel even as she continued to dabble in acting for a while.

Visit Joy's official site Here

Read an interview with Joy Here

The Vineyard-Barbara Delinsky

2007-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Barbara Delinsky's romances are involving because her characters are real. The characters drive the love story as opposed to having the love story fitting the characters into their respective boxes. There is no paint by numbers here.

She gives us a back story that is just as moving and powerful as the main romance that plays out. Natalie Seebring is getting remarried at the age of 76 and her children are furious about it. Their father has recently died and they see this as a betrayal of his memory. To make matters worse, Natalie is marrying Carl, the manager of the family vineyard. To try and help them understand, Natalie decides to hire someone to write her memoir and what unfolds is a gorgeous and heartbreaking depression era love story between Natalie and Carl, being chronicled by Olivia Jones, a writer staying at the vineyard with her daughter Tess.

Carl's son Simon is none too happy to see Olivia and her daughter having free reign of the grounds he works as they remind him on the wife and child he lost. But the attraction between Olivia and Simon is undeniable and over the course of the summer, as tensions rise and long buried truths are revealed, no one is left untouched, least of all Olivia and Simon who have to decide if their feelings for each other are worth trusting in after the chaos in the vienyard has settled.

Delinksy does a brilliant job getting into the heads of all her characters so that even Natalie's children, who could very easily have been left as ungrateful brats, earn your sympathy. You understand the choices Natalie made. Carl's devotion to Natalie is the kind of love that will make you reaching for the tissues and you're rooting as much for Natalie and Carl as you are for Olivia and Simon.

Born and raised in Boston, Barbara Delinsky has the dubious distinction of actually being kicked out of Honors English in high school. Who's laughing now?

Coming from a family of lawyers, Barbara had no inclination towards a literary life until she was married with twins and came upon an article profiling writers that caught her interest. Efeectively caught, she spent 3 months on her first novel and hit pay dirt right out of the gate. I'm sure many writers hate her guts after hearing that.

A breast cancer survivor, she has authored a non fiction book 'Uplift: Secrets From The Sisterhood Of Breast Cancer Survivors' which tells the stories of 350 breast cancer survivors offering tips and inspiring stories from survivors and their families.

Visit Barbara's official site: Here

Read a great interview with Barbara: Here

Fall From Grace-Megan Chance

2007-11-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

Fall From Grace is a romantic novel but it's also a novel about the power of forgiveness. The talented pen of Megan Chance brings us Lily, a wonderfully complex, strong but tormented woman in a genre largely panned (usually by people who don't read it) for its supposedly weak, simpering females. You know, those that are getting their bodices ripped.

Lily is adopted by the Sharpe gang as a child after they murder her parents. She is brought into their outlaw world and becomes an outlaw herself, marrying Texas Sharpe. But her thirst for revenge is stronger than her love for him and she betrays the outlaws who raised her.

From Chapter 17:
Lily sighed. She looked at the table, ran her fingers over the barrel of her gun. "I thought once that maybe I could be...respectable. Maybe I could have the life I was supposed to have."
"The life you were supposed to have," he repeated slowly. "You mean before we-"
"Yeah. Before that."
"But you don't think now?"
She looked up at him then and he was struck by the sheer power of the yearning in her eyes, the wistfulness that seemed to emanate from every part of her. Her hand went to her throat, her fingers caressing that red, angry scar, an intimacy that made him flinch, that nagged at that guilt inside him. He was relieved when she let her hand fall and shrugged. "I don't know what I think anymore."

Texas is a man filled with fury at his wife's betrayal but his love for her battles with his determination to make her pay for using him to avenge her parents death.

The reader is forced to choose sides and it's not an easy choice because Chance does such a good job fleshing out her characters and their lives that you understand where each one is coming from and you're forced to ask yourself how you would feel in a similar circumstances.

Megan Chance is an award winning author, among her awards is the prestigious RITA award, from Romance Writers Of America, the romance genre's version of the oscars. Before writing, she had a career as a news photographer. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two daughters.

Visit Megan Chances official site Here

The Fulfilment-LaVyrle Spencer

2007-11-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

The two brothers in love with the same woman plot has always been popular with readers and Lavryle Spencer raised the bar right out of the gate with her first novel back in 1979. The formula has been followed since then with varying degrees of success but Spencer set the standard with The Fulfilment; a passionate, heartwrenching novel where there are no easy answers and no black and white.

Mary and Jonathan Gray are a loving married couple working a Minnesota farm. The only strain in their relationship is their inability to have a child due to an illness when Jonathan was a child. Jonathan asks his brother Aaron to help them. Aaron will help Mary conceive the child that Jonathan cannot give her.

As they struggle with this decision and its reprucussions after one passionate weekend, Mary and Aaron fall deeply in love but they are torn between their love for each other and their love for and loyalty to Jonathan.

From Chapter 10:
"Will you let me leave the lantern on when we make love tonight?" he asked.
And again, her cheeks took on a little of the claret color of the liquid in her glass. "Please don't ask me that," she said.
"Why?"
"Because it seems indecent."
"Like the act of love itself?" he shrugged.
"I didn't say that, Aaron. I didn't even think it." She took a small sip of her glass before going on. "Last night you taught me that it isn't indecent, even between us to whom it's forbidden. When you made love to me, it made the act between Jonathan and me seem the indecent one. How can that be, Aaron, when Jonathan's my husband?"

The Fulfilment is a novel of pure bittersweet love so vividly written that your heart breaks for all three involved. Spencer has had phenomenal success with many novels since The Fulfilment and while I agree that everything she writes is pure gold, her firstr novel holds a special place in my heart as it was, ironically, the first Lavyrle Spencer novel I read.

The Rescue-Nicholas Sparks

2007-11-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

When you pick up a Nicholas Sparks book, chances are you know exactly what you're gonna get. An unapologetic tearjerker, strong characters and a story that will stay with you long after you've closed the book.

Perhaps most famous for his tearjerkers The Notebook, Message In A Bottle and A Walk To Remember, The Rescue delivers on all those levels.

Denise Holden is the mother of a speech delayed son, little Kyle who as you would expect, steals your heart from the word go. When she crashes her car, a frightened Kyle flees into the woods and is rescued by Taylor McAden a volunteer fireman and compulsive Mr. Fix-It. He and Denise develop a relationship despite Taylor's inability to commit, though his compulsive heroism and risk taking, rooted in his past begin to take their toll and Denise worries not only for her own heart, but that of he son's as well. But as with all Nicholas Sparks novels, true love is the driving force and the thing that keeps the characters from giving up the fight. Of course love, as Sparks' writes it, certainly is worth fighting for.

From Chapter 15:
She looked up at him.
He almost kissed her then. In the soft yellow light of the porch, her eyes seemed to glow with hidden intensity. Even so, he couldn't tell if she really wanted that from him and at the last second he held back. The evening had already been more memorable than any evening he'd spent in a long time; he didn't want to spoil that.
Instead he took a small step backward, as if to give her more space.
"I had a wonderful time tonight," he said.
"So did I," she said.
He finally let go of her hand, felt longing as it slipped away from him. He wanted to tell her that she had something inside her, something impossibly rare, something he'd looked for in the past but had never hoped to find. He wanted to say all these things but found that he couldn't.

His characters are strong and well developed and you feel like they are people in your neighborhood. As a reader, you feel a bit like a matchmaker, watching Taylor and Denise come together. You root for them and for the family they can build if only they can weather the many storms Sparks' throws at them.

Born in Omaha Nebraska on New Years Eve, 1965, Nicholas played in the relay team at Notre Dame university before an injury forced him to spend the summer recovering. Enter writing. His first novel was never published and he moved on to marry and work various jobs before giving it a second go at the age of 28. This time around luck was on his side. You may have heard of his second effort. A little book, didn't make much of a splash. The Notebook. See? Yeah. I know. You never heard of it.

He has the shared distinction with J.K Rowling, who, I know, you never heard of either, of being the only 2 contemporary authors to have a book spend more than a year on both the New York Times hardcover and paperback best seller lists.

Visits Nicholas Sparks' official site at : http://www.nicholassparks.com/index.php

An Interview With Nicholas Sparks

The Bronze Horseman-Paullina Simons

2007-11-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

The Bronze Horseman was published in 2001, and I'm sure if checked, you'd find out that Kleenex stock shot way up that year. This book is why.

Paullina Simons World War 2 love story is written in such a beautifully lyrical unpretentious style that despite some criticisms that Simons doesn't follow the literary 'rules', her book shines as an example of pure rich storytelling.

The main characters, Tatiana Metanova and Alexander (Barrington)Belov, an American posing as Russian soldier in Leningrad set up shop in the reader's heart and simply do not let go. From their first meeting at a bus stop, the attraction is instant. A monkey wrench is thrown in their potential romance when Alexander discovers that the woman he has started dating, Dasha, is none other than Tatiana's older sister. Add to that that Alexander's manipulative best friend Dimitri wants Tatiana for himself and is not above exposing Alexander's true identity to get her. He lords this threat over Alexander throughout much of the book and it's also Tatiana's devotion to her sister that keeps the lovers apart.

Then the war comes to Leningrad and Alexander and Tatiana are ripped apart and thrown together repeatedly as they struggle to survive famine, destruction, blistering cold, the Germans and the Red Army. Their love for each other is the one small burning flame between them that gives each of them the will to survive.

From the chapter: In Storied Battles.
"Tell me a memory," he whispered.
"Mmm, what kind of memory are you looking for?"
"You know what I'm looking for."
She continued to kiss his face lightly as her breathy voice whispered, "I remember one rainy night, running home from Naira's and pulling our blankets in front of the fire and you making the most tender love to me, telling me you would only stop when I begged you to stop." Tatiana smiled, her lips on his cheek. "And did I beg you to stop?"
"No," he said huskily. "You are not for the weak, Tatiasha."

I absolutely devoured The Bronze Horseman when I first read it and have read every book in the Tatiana/Alexander saga religiously every year. It's my Lord Of The Rings.

Paullina Simons dedicated this first book in a series of four in the Tatiana/Alexander saga to her grandparents, who survived the siege in Leningrad. Paullina was born in Leningrad and currently lives in the United States. She's always wanted to be a writer and started the journey with her first novel, Tully, before turning to her homeland for inspiration. Critics and literary snobs have dismissed Paullina's works for their lack of grammatical pandering.

Her success is largely due to word of mouth and that is as it should be, for who do we writers write for if not for the reader?

Visit Paullina's official website at www.paullinasimons.com

Go here for a fantastic interview with Paullina about The Bronze Horseman.

Outlander-Diana Gabaldon

2007-10-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

I couldn't tell you when I first read this book simply because I can't remember a time when I didn't love this first book in the beloved Jamie/Claire series. This book is on of the most powerful love stories I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

All those popular hero in a kilt love stories that fly off the shelves? They all started here. With Jamie Fraser. An 18th century Scotsman who is on the run from the English with his merry band of gentlemen (and one crazy uncle who seems to have it in for him) when he meets Claire, an English nurse who stumbles upon this merry band smack in the middle of battle. An English nurse who takes a hell of a tumble through a cluster of standing stones back (or ahead as it were) in 1945.

Claire is married to Frank Randall umpteenth grandson to Black Jack Randall and on her second honeymoon with Frank after years apart during the war. Black Jack's name is well earned. He is one sadistic mofo and seems to have a hankering for Jamie and not above harming Claire to get to him. To protect Claire from Jack, Jamie marries her and thus begins a sweet, entertaining relationship built on attraction and respect that blossoms into all consuming love that endures through the most tragic, painful and horrifying circumstances.

It is this 'fish out of water' element that provides much of the humor and heart stopping danger in this involving novel. In one instance, Claire is arrested as a witch turned in by a rival for Jamie's affections and very nearly burned at the stake.

While Claire's dry wit endears her to the reader and it's through her eyes that we live the story, it's Jamie's sweetness and unique ability to find humor in the darkest of situations that truly steal your heart.

From the chapter: A Marriage Is Announced
I had one last try. "Does it bother you that I'm not a virgin?" He hesitated a moment before answering.
"Well, no," he said slowly, "so long as it doesna bother you that I am." He grinned at my drop-jawed expression, and backed toward the door. "Reckon one of us should know what they're doing," he said. The door closed softly behind him; clearly the courtship was over.

One of the things that I find amazing about Outlander is that it was never originally meant to see the light of day! Diana Gabaldon had been a university professor, decided to take a stab at novels and started penning Outlander to get her feet wet, technique wise. What emerged was a rich, historical romance that spawned a series, now 6 books strong, a phenomenon more than a fanbase and a jumping point for authors of all things Scottish to pen their own love stories starring hot heroes of the kilted variety ie: the phenomenal Kinley MacGregor.

Read An Interview With Diana Gabaldon: http://paranormalromance.org/DianaGabaldon06.htm

Visit Diana's Official Site: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~gatti/gabaldon/gabaldon.html

Join the famed Ladies Of Lallybroch (some of Diana's most devoted fans)here:http://www.lallybroch.com/LOL/index2.htm