trueromance

Setting: Contemporary Lafayette, Louisiana
Subgenre: Contemporary erotic suspense
Hero: Luc Traverson
Heroine: Alyssa Devereaux
One sentence summary: He can’t control his desire…and that’s just the way she wants it.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
There’s a scene late in the book where Alyssa bares her past and her soul to Luc. I cried writing the whole thing.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
It’s okay if you don’t pursue your dreams.

What celebrity is your hero like:
A much sexier Emeril Lagasse. He cooks like a dream and has a lot of charisma.

What celebrity is your heroine like:
With the face and body of Jesse Jane, she’s got the unsinkable spirit of Molly Brown. She’s not quite accepted and yet she still presses on, refusing to let anything or anyone make her quit.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
Currently, Alyssa is the owner of Sexy Sirens, a notorious strip club in Lafayette, but she’s opening Bonheur, an upscale restaurant.

What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Luc is a celebrity chef. After publishing many cookbooks, he’ll soon be appearing on his own cable cooking show.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
I hope it’s the characters’ growth and their road to happily-ever-after they take by becoming more honest, open, and evolved people.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
Since Delicious released on March 2, I’ve had a lot of requests for Tyler. He’s definitely on my mind. I’m also receiving mail about another upcoming hero in this series, Hunter Edgington. His book, SURRENDER TO ME, will release next March.

What’s next:
This fall I’ll be releasing 3 books I’m super excited about.
October 5, FOUR PLAY anthology (with Maya Banks)
October 26, HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH anthology (with Jeaniene Frost and Shari Kohler)
October 26, ENTICE ME AT TWILIGHT, Doomsday Brethren 4

I love to write about imperfect people learning their way so they can deserve their happy ending. I don’t know anyone who’s perfect, and I’m certainly not perfect myself. I tend to think reading about perfect people would be dull. I like seeing characters falter, learn, and change. Would you rather read people who are always heroic or flawed people who become better for their experiences? A random commenter will be chosen to win a copy of DELICIOUS.

Additionally, any input an author has in the comments is bound to increase the success of the post. If you plan to host a giveaway, please notify us and add that to the end of your blog post.

Thanks for joining us last week on Borders True Romance Blog — lots of great conversation & great insite from you all. Winners are announced below — please send SueG your snail mail address, sgrimsha@bordersgroupinc.com, so we can alert the authors to mail out your prizes. Happy Romance!

Monday - Dara Girard’s winner - Corries!

Tuesday - Mariah Stewart’s 3 winners: Robyn L; Martha Lawson; Jan Mardis

Friday - Sue’s stash - Jane C; & we’ll do one more . . . KH (caution, must live within the US — sorry!)

Saturday - more of Sue’s stash - Anna Shah Hoque (must reside in US)

Join us this week for a great line up of authors:

Sunday - Brenda Joyce & IMPOSSIBLE ATTRACTION - part of the de Warenne series, did I mention I loved this booK?

Monday - Shayla Black

Tuesday - Larissa Ione

Wednesday - Monica McCarty

Thursday - Cover Model, Jason!

Friday - Louisa Edwards

Saturday - Diane Gaston

Join us, won’t you? Lot’s of great conversation & prizes!

Until 2morrow, Happy Romance!
SueG

WHAT IS IT ABOUT FATAL ATTRACTION? AND ADD A DASH OF CINDERELLA MEETS DARK PRINCE CHARMING AND THE DE WARENNE DYNASTY CONTINUES!

Fatal attraction is the one theme that runs throughout every romance I have ever written, although the attraction isn’t fatal—is is life altering—it is Fate. Romantic that I remain, I believe our most significant relationships—and choices, decisions and life events—are karmic. When I throw a hero and heroine together, no matter the challenge, the crisis, or the conflict, no matter the gulf that divides them, it is meant to be and they cannot avoid their Destiny!
In An Impossible Attraction, Alexandra Bolton has sacrificed her own happiness to take care of her two younger sisters and her wastrel father. The decision was made nine years earlier, as her mother lay dying and she chose to walk away from “true” love. Now, her father has gambled away most of the family fortune, and Alexandra sews the clothes of the ladies who were once her mother’s friends to make a “living.” As you must know, in Britain in 1845, if one is in the upper classed one does not “work” for a living—somehow, the funds are magically produced! The good Bolton name in ruins, Alexandra does not believe she will ever have a second chance at love, and considers herself fortunate when an elderly squire wishes to marry her. But when he takes her to a society affair, the darkly handsome, terribly powerful Duke of Clarewood sets his rather illicit sights upon her and her world is turned upside down…

My readers first met Stephen Mowbray, now the duke of Clarewood, in The Perfect Bride—he is Sir Rex de Warenne’s illegitimate son. Clarewood is, without dispute, the most powerful peer in the realm. He is haunted by his own ghosts. Having witnessed the horrors of marriage first hand—his parents despised one another—he has spent the past decade looking for the perfect duchess, that is, at thirty-two, he remains in no rush to marry, and dreads ever doing so. He is instantaneously—fatally—attracted to Alexandra, at first sight. Aware that she is rather destitute, he is determined to make her his mistress—and reward her handsomely for her time. But nothing goes quite as planned, because Alexandra is a woman of great courage and even greater moral conviction, and she is determined to resist him, when Clarewood is NEVER denied….

Alexandra is a true Cinderella heroine—she has sacrificed her own happiness for those she loves, and she has been rather thoroughly, and unfairly, ostracized from society. Even her own father disowns her! Stephen is truly a dark Prince Charming—he is accustomed to wandering the great halls of Clarewood alone, and hardly expects those halls to be filled with love and laughter. Yet interestingly, when all is said and done, both Alexandra and Stephen have a great deal in common. Alexandra is probably one of the most dignified and stalwart heroines I have ever written, a woman who has suffered greatly and truly deserves to reap the just rewards for the selfless actions of her entire life; Stephen was terribly abused as a boy, especially emotionally, yet he is also a man of great honor, and he, too, has spent a lifetime undertaking great charitable deeds. (He is the realm’s most renowned philanthropist.) Like Alexandra, he is ready to reap his just rewards–of true, unconditional love. So in a way, they have both traveled the same difficult path that has taken them to the fortuitous moment of their first meeting, and no two people are better suited.
For all of my continuing de Warenne readers, An Impossible Attraction delivers everything you have come to expect—a powerful passionate hero, a proud, courageous heroine, and a powerful love story filled with passion and poignancy, tragedy and, at last, against the seeming odds, final triumph.

And of course, the stories you have all been clamoring for are on their way! Alexi de Warenne and Elysse O’Neill’s story, The Promise, will be published next October. So my question is, who should I write about after Alexi and Elysse? I can already imagine your answers! And if I were to go backwards in time, and do the black sheep side of the de Warenne family—the fortune hunters, the con artists and the rogues—the ne’er do wells who are determined to scheme, gamble and marry their way “up” in society— which period would you most enjoy? And finally, which is your favorite scene in An Impossible Attraction? If you tell me yours, I will tell you mine!

And let me leave you with the following news flash—in case you haven’t heard—Francesca and Hart are back! Deadly Vows will be on the shelves in March 2011, following the reissue of Deadly Illusions in January and Deadly Kisses in February. Happy Reading!

Risky Read Along

You are invited to the very first Risky Regencies Read Along. From March 10 to 31 the Riskies and their readers, at the same time, will be reading Georgette Heyer’s Venetia (and offering prizes), a blogdom version of a book discussion group. What could be better than to discuss books with one’s friends? After all, this is what the Borders True Romance Blog does every day, right?

Risky Regencies Blog is “the original, riskiest, and forever the friskiest Regency Romance Blog,” with at least 5 to 6 blogs a week for almost five years. Each of us has our own day of the week to blog, and we each have our own individual voices and our own take on the world of the Regency (and History in general) and the writing of Regency-set Romance.
Diane Gaston, who writes Regency Historicals for Harlequin Historicals, blogs on Mondays. Next for Diane is her Harlequin Historical Undone short story The Unlacing of Miss Leigh, which appears in the April 2010 anthology, Pleasurably Undone.
Tuesday is Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee’s day. Amanda’s books span several time periods for Harlequin Historical. Laurel McKee’s debut series for Grand Central features 18th Century Ireland. Amanda has several books available now. To Catch a Rogue is coming in April. Laurel McKee’s Countess of Scandal is available now.
Carolyn Jewel blogs on Wednesdays. Carolyn’s latest Regency from Berkley Sensation, Indiscreet, was released last October. Carolyn also writes Paranormals for Grand Central. My Forbidden Desire, came out in June. Carolyn will lead our Read Along. It was her idea!
Janet Mullany is our Thursday blogger. An irreverent and extremely clever Englishwoman, Janet writes funny romantic Regencies for Little Black Dress. Improper Relations is the latest. She also writes adaptations of literary works. Coming soon from Loose Id an erotic novella, Reader I Married Him. October 2010 from Harlequin, a novella in Bespelling Jane, and from Harper Collins, Jane and the Damned: “It is more than her wit that is biting.”
Megan Frampton winds up our blogging week on Fridays. Megan wrote A Singular Lady for Signet and is currently freelancing and exploring a variety of genres, including Regency, for her next publishing niche.
The Risky Regency Read Along Kick Off is March 10. The goal is to read seven chapters each week, finishing Venetia on March 31. On March 10 Carolyn gives some potential discussion ideas for the first seven chapters. On March 17 the discussion begins. Join in for the fun…and for the chance to win prizes.

BTRB, SueG interviews Reader, Karen Hillis!

BTRB: So Karen, what did you first think when you won the chance to blog?
Answer: What on earth would I talk about?

BTRB: What got you started reading romance?
Answer: Fabio on the cover of Johanna Lindsey’s “Defy Not the Heart.” I was visiting my parents and Mom had several romance novels in the bedroom I was using. I recognized his picture, saw it was historical (I have always loved history, especially biographies), and decided I had nothing to lose by reading it except a bit of time. But I loved it and I’ve been an avid romance reader and supporter ever since!

BTRB: Name a few of your favorite authors?
Answer: (in no particular order) Johanna Lindsey, Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle/Jayne Anne Krentz, Sandra Hill, J. D. Robb, Eloisa James, Janet Chapman, Leigh Greenwood, Lorraine Heath, Sabrina Jeffries, Stephanie Laurens, Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kerrelyn Sparks, Lynsay Sands, Nina Bangs, Lisa Kleypas, Lori Foster - okay, I’ll stop now but there are actually more.

Question: Are there any genres or plots you don’t read & why?
Answer: I read pretty much all genres as long as the writing is good and I like the protagonists. I don’t read a book if either the hero or the heroine drives me nuts. In fact, I just started a new book and if the heroine doesn’t shape up pretty soon, I may not finish it (though I have loved the author’s books in the past, including the precursors in this series). I know the heroine’s apparently had a rough background but she’s pretty darned annoying at this point and I cannot imagine what a hero would see in her.

I do steer clear of certain plots, though. I dislike mean and cruel people and I cannot read a novel set in Elizabethan times if it takes place at court. There just seem to be nothing but horrible intrigues and I can’t stand it. I read for relaxation and enjoyment and I can take only so much bad stuff on the way to the happy ending.

I also don’t like books that torture either the hero or the heroine too much. There’s an author whose books I initially liked until I realized that in every one of them the hero was tortured in various ways for various reasons for a very long time. I’m really worried about that author’s husband!

And I’m really tired of the 18-20 year old virgin heroine with the 30-35 year old very experienced man. It creeps me out since she’s frequently young enough to be his daughter. And all of these innocents immediately seem to know exactly what to do in bed to enchant the hero, even though he’s slept with too many women to count. Totally implausible!

Last but not least, I cannot read Harlequin Presents, though I have purchased quite a few for the gorgeous cover models they use (John DeSalvo is a particular favorite). I think they are more of a European sensibility but the heroes are too arrogant (ok, they’re mostly obnoxious), the heroines are too innocent and passive, and the endings seem to suddenly happen. I like my heroes strong and smart and my heroines smart and sassy (like me, I guess).

BTRB: What you think publishers should offer their readers that they don’t now?
Answer: I’m a big fan of sexy guys on the cover of the book and while I don’t mind the female being included, I certainly don’t want her falling out of her clothes (the cover of Lois Greiman’s “Charming the Devil” is an example of showing more of her than I’m interested in seeing). In terms of content, I can always find something good to read so I really don’t have any suggestions. But here are some things publishers are doing that I don’t like:

1. Half covers to show the stepback. Those half covers are hard to hold.

2. Too tall books (Christine Feehan’s “Dark Demon” and “Night Game” were published in this format). Very hard to hold and they take up too much room in my bookcase.

3. Stepback covers that just give reviews of the book. I don’t care about these reviews and it’s a waste of a perfectly good and expensive stepback. Ditto stepbacks with landscapes.

4. Too thin cover stock. A recent book I read was also hard to hold since there wasn’t much substance to the cover. It seemed to be little thicker than the actual pages.

5. Getting the color and/or style of the hero and/or heroine’s hair completely wrong. I just finished a book where the hero was described as having blond hair but the cover illustration showed a man with dark brown hair. Yes, I want a good looking man on the cover but I’d like him to resemble the hero’s description also.

BTRB: How do you decide what you’re going to buy each month?
Answer: I only buy books that I plan to keep “forever” so either the cover has a gorgeous guy or it’s a very favorite series by a VERY favorite author. Money is tight and so is storage so if I only want to read it, I go to the library.

BTRB: How you decide where to shop?
Answer: Generally, wherever I’m closest to when I decide to spend some money. Or if there’s some kind of sale I can take advantage of.

Question for discussion: How much do blogs influence your purchasing decision?
I use blogs to find out what’s coming out and sometimes what is not worth reading (Smart Bitches Trashy Books is especially useful in that regard). I have so many favorite authors (see above for a short list) who are still writing and not enough time so I simply cannot read everything.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BOOK!

Once upon a time we avid readers relied on a limited amount of publications in our quest for the next best read. Armed with the latest copies of Romantic Times, or the New York Times Sunday Book List, we roamed the stacks, deferring to our dog-eared, yellow highlighted copies, hoping the reviewers’ tastes matched our own. The method was hit or miss, and many of us kissed our share of frogs in search of the perfect hero and compelling story. But when we did ultimately find “The” book, we shared our new find with all our friends, excited to pass along the latest gem of a story and its new author.

Fast forward twenty-five years and here we are inundated with reviews and blogs, along with a bevy of readers’ personal opinions on emerging authors, and the latest and greatest reads. I, personally, believe information is power, and love having access to all the backlists, new release info, and comparative suggestions many bookseller sites offer. I’ve found some of my new favorite authors through this literary information highway, and take full advantage of the forums to share my excitement about my latest find with equally passionate readers. Lately “The” books for me are: Georgina Gentry’s, DIABLO; Catherine Mann’s; RENEGADE; Lorelei James’ BRANDED AS TROUBLE, Megan Hart’s, SWITCH.

While the theme of sharing is the same, the venue is far more reaching and encompassing. I believe it makes for a better match, with the perfect books getting it into the hands of the right readers; a must when time and money are limited.

It may be a new decade, with new options for finding our literary princes, but it’s always been - and always will be - about “the” book.

So, how do you find “The” book? What are your favorite sites, and who do you defer to when picking your next great read? Is the emphasis on fellow readers, blogs, newsletters, or published reviewers? Inquiring avid readers want to know.

Comment below & someone will be chosen to win some of Sue’s stash — Happy Romance!

Karen Matheny

Tall….6’1”….check.

Smart….you bet….check.

Chris Winters is a TV-Film guy/techno-jock who makes the A-list for Borders True Romance, Reader’s Entertainment Group, and Between Your Sheets. Born in Virginia and currently living in LA, this 2008 Mr. Romance can be seen in TV and movie cameos, biking or running around the city, appearing at events, or sometimes on various websites.

What do romance readers want to know about Chris?

Has being Mr. Romance helped you in achieving any of your Hollywood goals?
I think anything you do adds a step to achieving any kind of goals in life. I have had, very interestingly, someone mention it on a red carpet event before. I started recently using it more to bring the awareness.

Has being a cover model added romance to your relationships or has it actually been a detriment?
Well, I do not think being a cover model of anything will add or take away romance from an individual because a person should love someone for who they are inside. I know me just being me adds a lot to romance, or anything else for that matter. Romance is defined on respect, communication, and love for the other person.

Where do you hope to be in your career in the next two years?
Well, I do have a few people pushing me that are successful working actors, so I will be having a great year in the middle or end of 2010. I remember in 2005 a lot of things happened within that year and it was the same time. I’ve done a lot in Hollywood since my arrival two years ago. I have to thank my fans for that as well for keeping up with me.

If you could go back in history and become anyone he wanted, who would that be?
That’s a really tough question. I would imagine the person I could possibly be would be Abraham Lincoln. He has his own personal issues along with doing something really great in his life. One true hero.

If you could choose to be any character in a book for a film, which character would it be?
This is another tough question. Off the bat, I would imagine Darth Vader from the Star Wars movies. I always loved that character!

What Chris wants you to know about him?
I can honestly say I do love life. I thank God everyday for another chance to breathe again. I am the type of guy who you will meet and walk away smiling, knowing that I am down-to-earth.

I am a free spirited individual who believes in living life to the fullest and laughter is the start of everything. I enjoy many things in life. This ranges from eating, running in parks, solving challenging problems, to spending some time with someone. They say life is too short, but I always ask: “What else is longer?” Life shouldn’t be measured in time, but the time you enjoy with it.

Here are the following fun filled facts:

I am very goal oriented and determined but I have a weakness for chocolate and other sugary things.
I like a stimulating conversation, this can range from fractual functions to macrophages; or the uvula!
I love Xbox 360. I only like a few select games that have a storyline.
I like parks– especially Pan Pacific in Los Angeles, next to The Grove (it was featured on Miracle Mile and actor Brian Thompson was on it. I worked with him. The park is pretty cool at night, while running).
I like Peanut butter, and most common things everybody else likes. Ladybugs come to mind.
I DO NOT fold clean laundry. Hate it. I use it for my ultimate Hamster Nest. My Hamster Nest is when you sleep on various clothing articles.
I like snakes, snails, spiders, and scary movies. Yeah, I am NOT AFRAID to get my hands dirty, muddy, or tear up my shoes! I will also rub your feet.
I like various music. However, I really like Indie music that no one else listens to.
I really, super love, swing sets! If you want to feel young again, that is the place.
Midnight blue or blue that resembles late, starry night. Romantic and euphoric.

So let’s give a shout out for this talented, humorous guy who is determined to make it to the top and to take all of his friends with him because success for Chris is all about the heart. Hear him on the March 9th on Canned Laughter and Coffee with Renee Bernard and learn why this is a swinging Mr. Romance, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/circle-of-seven/2010/03/10/canned-laughter-and-coffee.

Update: Here’s the interview!

Learn more about Chris at Between your Sheets.com

My Borders Romance Group

I am very lucky that the Borders I shop at has a wonderful Romance Reader Group. This is a group of about 20 ladies and we are growing. I have been a part of this group for over 8 years. We meet once a month and just talk romance books. When we talk book, we talk books. We talk about what we liked, what we didn’t like. Why did the author do that and what really turns us off of a book. We even went to San Francisco when RWA was there. A whole bus load of us went up and came back with a bus loadof autographed books.

We all have a few pet peeves that we don’t like. Some of them are, if the hero is unfaithful to the heroine after they met. He can do anything he wants before they get together, but once they meet. He better stay faithful to her. Then you have the heroine that is just to stupid to live. You just want to shot her and it can really ruin a book for you. The other biggie is modern language in a historical. I know that one really upsets people. Or the cover does not match the hero or heroine. Here you are reading a book and the cover shows a blond with flowing hair, but in the book she has flowing black hair.

Another big plus in our group is we get ARC’s to read. That is Advanced Reader Copy. This has opened my eyes up to so many new authors and genres. I never read shifter books until I got a ARC for one. After that I was hooked. I love Lora Leigh, Shelly Laurenston, Terry Spear, Nalini Singh. I have found new authors this way. Authors I never would of picked up if I hadn’t gotten the ARC, Anna Campbell, Deb Stover, Nina Bruhns just to name a few. Well also get ARC”S of up coming releases. Brenda Novak, Robyn Carr, Madeline Hunter, you can’t miss her new series, they are outstanding! An ARC is great because it can really open up your eyes to new and old authors.

We are even lucky to have a few authors in our group. Bella Andre, Jasmine Haynes, Mardi Ballou, and Shelly, who has three pen names, Shelly Bates/Shelly Adina/Shannon Hollis . It’s fun to have them because they do tell us some interesting things. It is also nice to know what some of them go through with there books. It’s nice to hear what makes them write, where they get there ideas, and all important when the next book is out.

We have had authors that will come and talk about their new books and then sign them for us. Brenda Novak came and talked about her Last Stand series and the new series that will be out this year. Veronica Wolff and Monica McCarty have come by. Jenny Anderson, who is a member of the group just had her first book published. We have also had Jami Alden, Anne Mallory, Crystal Jordan and others come by.

Because of this group I have met some wonderful ladies, I have read some great books. I have gotten others to read good books, like The Madness Of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. They have gotten me to read books out of my comfort zone like Immortal Sins by Amanda Ashley, I don’t really like vampire books, but this one was Ok.

If you are not lucky and don’t have a group like this around. The next best thing I found has been the Romantic Times web site. It has a wonderful message board and we talk books all day long. It has a bunch of different boards that you can go to. You have a board for your favorites, readers roundtable, book sleuth, a general board and you also have a spoiler one. If you have a question about any book you can post it here and it will be answered. I have met allot of nice ladies here also. Mater of fact I have one lady that we will send books back and forth to each other, thanks Danielle!

Last I would like to wish my mom a Happy belated Birthday. When I first did this post it was to run on her Birthday, but we got bumped!!

Do any of you have a Romance group in your area? What are some of your pet peeves in a book? Do you have someone who encouraged you to read?

Setting: St. Dennis, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay
Subgenre: Contemporary romance
Hero: Grady Shields
Heroine: Vanessa Keaton

One sentence summary of Coming Home:
A lonely widower and a divorcee, both haunted by their pasts, find that when it comes to love, never say never.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
I can’t choose just one - sorry! – but I loved:
~ the scene where Vanessa is baking cookies for Mia and Beck’s wedding and Mia sends Grady to give her a hand, and they both realize that the impressions they’d had of each other were completely wrong;
~ the scene where Vanessa explains to Grady how her life changed after she arrived in St. Dennis and why Hal is the father she never had;
~ the scene where the realtor is showing Vanessa the house she ends up buying.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
Hey big fella, how ‘bout you just sit there and let me wait on you while you tell me what to wear, what to do, and how to do it?

Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy: Boxer. Maybe.

Ancillary character you had the most fun with:
No contest! Steffie Wyler, Vanessa’s best friend, was a lot of fun.
And I ended up LOVING Grace Sinclair, a 70-something woman who’s lived in St. Dennis all her life and runs the local paper, and is the author of the diary entries that appear here and there throughout the book.

Your heroine’s favorite hobby:
Dressing the windows of her pretty shop, Bling.

Your hero’s favorite hobby:
Back-packing in the Rockies.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
I think readers will love the characters – both Grady and Vanessa have had to weather some pretty heavy emotional storms but each found a way to land on their feet. But there are so many others – Hal Garrity, Vanessa’s surrogate father, and Steffie, her best friend, and all the others who gather for coffee at Cuppachino in the early mornings before they disperse to go about their business. I also think readers will love the town of St. Dennis, which is a character in itself – it’s a small Bay town that’s just recently started to become a tourist attraction, and is experiencing some growing pains with the influx of new businesses and lots of visitors. I loved this town when I first wrote about it in LAST WORDS, and could not wait to revisit it again.
I think readers will love seeing Vanessa and Grady fall in love and finding their happily ever after. There’s one place in the story where Vanessa is confessing to Grady that when she was little, she really believed in fairy tales and happily ever afters and romance, but she doesn’t anymore. I’m paraphrasing here, but he tells her that he still does, and she questions that: How can you believe in still finding your princess after what happened to you – and he says, “Wrong princess.”
I think that pretty much sums up the feeling we all have when things haven’t gone well in a relationship – the feeling that there’s still hope of finding that one person who’s going to be the right one for you.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
For the past few years, it’s been a tie between Grady Shields and Jack McGowan. Grady’s finally getting his happy ending. Jack…well, he’s still among the missing!

What’s next:
Book two in the Chesapeake Diaries series – HOME AGAIN – will be out in October (I think the date is 9/28). This is a book that’s been in the back of my mind for a long time – since I did the re-write of my second book, A DIFFERENT LIGHT, which Pocket reissued in January of this year with a gorgeous new cover. It’s hard to believe that I wrote that book back in 1994! There was a character in that book who was spoken of but was never actually on the page. Her name was Dallas MacGregor, and she was the college sweetheart of the heroine’s late husband. In A DIFFERENT LIGHT, Dallas had gone to LA to become a movie star. Over the years, readers would ask me about her – had she ever found happiness with someone else? When I started writing COMING HOME, Dallas kept popping back into my head, and I knew that she belonged in St. Dennis, that this was the town where she spent all her summers before heading west. Of course, she would have had a summer love – and I knew right away that that had to have been Grant Wyler – Steffie’s brother.
So that’s how it goes…one little idea grows eventually into a Big Idea, and before you know it, you have another book in your head that wasn’t there yesterday!
After HOME AGAIN, will be ALMOST HOME – Steffie’s book. I think once you’ve read COMING HOME, you’ll know who her hero will be. This one is scheduled for the spring of 2011 – April or May, as far as I know now.

Many of you know that for the past ten years, I’ve written romantic suspense – nineteen books, actually! But did you know that I wrote seven contemporary romances before I turned to the dark side with VOICES CARRY? Now, I love writing suspense – but after nineteen books, the research required to write all those psychotic villains was starting to get to me – and it started to get to my daughters, too, since they never got to leave the house without a lecture when they were in high school! “Call me before you leave the party so I’ll know when to expect you.” “If a car is following you and it has a flashing light on, put on your emergency flashers and drive slowly to the nearest police station…or dial 911 and give your name and location and tell them someone’s following you and you want to know if it’s legit before you pull over.” They tell me now that I drove them NUTS back then!
But in the midst of the dark times our family experienced last year – losing not only my dad, but my brother as well – I found I needed to go to a happier place in my writing. Re-writing A DIFFERENT LIGHT reminded me why I loved writing romance so much. When I asked my editor what she thought of me returning to my kinder, gentler roots, she very enthusiastically gave me a green light. The new series will be very much like the books I used to write, with the focus on relationships, not just between the hero and the heroine, but their families and their friends – books that center on the importance of home and community, and that explore the power of love in all its varied forms and all its possibilities.
I can’t seem to help myself from adding a little bit of mystery to the pot, but I’ve always been big on blending – contemporary romance with women’s fiction with a little mystery. This new series even blends characters from several of my old series. Grady Shields first appeared in my DEAD books. We met Vanessa Keaton in LAST WORDS. Even Grace Sinclair has made a previous appearance – in the epilogue for ACTS OF MERCY – the third book in the MERCY STREET series - as the childhood friend of Trula Comfort (who will be visiting St. Dennis soon). And of course, there’s Dallas MacGregor from A DIFFERENT LIGHT. Throughout the series, you’ll meet old friends as well as new.

I’m really excited about the Chesapeake Diaries – COMING HOME was an absolute joy to write, and in some ways, felt like coming home for me. But I’m curious – how do you, as a reader, feel about writers switching genres? Are you disappointed when an author writes a book – or books – that are very different from what you’ve become accustomed to? Inquiring minds want to know!

GIVEAWAY: Mariah Stewart mugs to 3 lucky commenter’s!

The Seduction of Secrets:
How Peyton Place Inspired Words of Seduction
Dara Girard
Peyton Place. Just saying the name brings up images of sex, scandal, and small town secrets. Author, Grace Metalious, was referred to as a “Pandora in Blue Jeans” because she’d supposedly opened up a ‘box of sin’ and revealed it to the world! Both she and her book where denounced by preachers and politicians and banned in Canada and other countries. When asked in an interview if she thought Peyton Place would be remembered, Ms. Metalious, said, “I doubt it very much.” Peyton Place which was published in 1956 (and crucified by some critics) is still in print and has sold millions.

By today’s standards, the novel would be considered tame, but I believe the spirit of Peyton Place is the reason it has lasted all these years. Why? Because its themes– hypocrisy, social inequities and class privilege–are what make this ‘trashy little book’ resonant years later. Aside from the scandal and sex, it is a story about the lives of three women—Constance MacKenzie, a woman with secret fears and desires; her daughter Allison who is a product of a secret heritage, and Selena Cross whose secret pain shatters an entire town. And that is why Peyton Place inspired my recent release WORDS OF SEDUCTION.

WORDS OF SEDUCTION is a story about Suzanne Rand, a former housewife turned hot novelist who is forced to return to her small town of Anadale, North Carolina after her father dies. There she reunites with a man who broke her heart years ago and soon her real life is igniting more sparks than her stories. Along with the small town setting, just as in the book that inspired me, there are three women with secrets whose lives eventually intertwine—Suzanne returns with secrets and fears that Rick Gordon is determined to reveal (although he has dangerous secrets of his own). His mother, Frieda Gordon, has a dark secret that threatens to destroy her son’s new love and then there’s Suzanne’s former music teacher, Melba Lowell, whose shocking secret from the past continues to echo in the present.

What is it about secrets that tantalize? I believe it’s because there’s something about pulling away the veneer of ‘perfection’ and revealing the ‘imperfection’ underneath. Whether it is a secret love affair, or a ‘love’ child, or a man now living as a woman secrets show us that many lives are more complex than they first appear to be. As Ms. Metalious once said of her own hometown, “To a tourist these towns look as peaceful as a postcard picture, but if you go beneath that picture it’s like turning over a rock with your foot–All kinds of strange things crawl out.”

We are drawn to the darkness where secrets linger. Their seductive invitation is the demons we all know exist, but rarely think of. We all understand the pain of quiet desperation, forbidden desires, and hidden domestic sorrows. In my initial draft of this story I came up with a Town of Secrets for the title. I quickly changed my mind. First it’s not a practical title for a romance and secondly, secrets weren’t the only theme. So I chose WORDS OF SEDUCTION because, as a writer, I know the power of words to seduce. Not just in terms of eliciting passion, but also for persuasion to get someone to commit acts or think thoughts that they might not normally do (Lady Macbeth comes to mind). Frieda persuades her son to betray Suzanne, Melba persuades the townspeople to look away from the truth of her life, and finally Suzanne persuades Rick on many different levels.

In the end, like Peyton Place, WORDS OF SEDUCTION is a story of love and forgiveness, which I hope will make for a memorable book readers will enjoy. You can find out more about this novel and read an excerpt on my website: http://www.daragirard.com

What do you think about secrets? Good or bad? What did you think about the secrets in Peyton Place? When secrets are revealed, why do some people try so hard to deny them? I’ll give away an autographed copy of WORDS OF SEDUCTION and a multi-lipstick holder to a random commenter.