trueromance

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.

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?

Click Here - Exclusive, Too Hot To Handle, By Louisa Edwards

Welcome to my little slice of heaven! True, it’s not quite as heavenly as a slice of dark chocolate mousse cake, but I hope you’ll enjoy the site anyway. There are a few goodies here, actually—yummy treats such as book excerpts, free reads, videos, and of course, all the latest news about my Recipe for Love series!

Check back for updates soon!

Bon appétit,
Louisa

About the Author:
“My favorite thing about romance is that it’s like real life — but the way you wish life could be.”
—Louisa Edwards

Louisa Edwards grew up in Virginia, surrounded by the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. By age 11, she was sneaking Harlequins out of her visiting grandmother’s suitcase, making her parents nervous about what, precisely, their little girl was learning from those books. Naturally, they were relieved when Louisa decided to attend Bryn Mawr College, hoping the Seven Sisters vibe might instill the intellectual rigor she thus far seemed to lack.

To their dismay, however, even the ivy-covered halls of Bryn Mawr couldn’t distract Louisa from her addiction to romances. Instead, she traded in her Harlequins for longer, juicier single titles, reading everything from Laura Kinsale to Jennifer Cruisie. She also managed to graduate cum laude with a degree in Romance Languages (which is not as sexy as it sounds—mostly she studied Spanish, French, and Italian literature, although some of that French stuff did get fairly racy.)

After graduation, Louisa moved to Manhattan, landing a job as an editorial assistant at Penguin Group (USA), where she worked directly for the smart, savvy president of Mass Market Paperbacks, Leslie Gelbman, who guided Louisa as she built her own list.

Vindication! It was possible to make a living from reading romance novels. Louisa’s parents were equal parts surprised and thrilled. While at Berkley, Louisa was lucky enough to work with some great authors, assistant editing Leslie’s heavy hitters, Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz. Louisa’s own list included, among others, Lucy Monroe, Jennifer St. Giles, and Shelley Bradley. All of which led to Louisa being promoted to assistant editor.

Then real life romance ensued: Louisa married a journalist and was promptly exiled to Ohio so her husband could work for his family’s newspaper. There Louisa started reviewing romances for FreshFiction.com and took a part-time job at the Culinary Vegetable Institute. Personal interaction with chefs, plus the limited repertoire of local restaurants stoked Louisa’s interest in food. She began critiquing restaurants for the local newspaper, got sucked into Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, trailed a chef friend at his restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina, started cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and decided to bring it all together by writing CAN’T STAND THE HEAT.

Now she awaits the response of the masses to her foodie-inspired romance. Meanwhile, Louisa will continue to eat in as many wonderful restaurants as possible—purely for research, of course.

Louisa will be posting on 3/19/10 - if you’d like to comment below, she’ll review & include answers in her upcoming post

Happy Romance!

Alyssa Day, ATLANTIS REDEEMED, Setting: Atlantis and Yellowstone National Park
Subgenre: Paranormal Romance
Hero: Brennan, an Atlantean warrior who has lived without emotion for more than 2,000 years
Heroine: Tiernan Butler, a human investigative reporter who has the Gift of Truth Telling

One sentence summary:
When 2,000 years of lost emotion hit you all at once—do you fall in love or die?

Scene you like most and would never cut:
When Brennan first re-encounters Tiernan and the curse he has suffered under for so long shatters.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
Anything that makes her look, feel, or be helpless. She has a vested interest in bringing the truth to the public and achieving justice for her murdered best friend.

Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy:
Pure Atlantean silk, baby.

Ancillary character you had the most fun with:
The vampire leader, Devon. He has very interesting goals and the shocking twist at the end almost surprised even me! I’m going to write his book one day.

Your heroine’s favorite hobby:
Walking on the beach, far away from anybody who might be telling lies. Lies hurt her; they feel and sound discordant and screeching against her soul.

Your hero’s favorite hobby:
Can I say it involves Tiernan and nakedness? LOL. He also is having a great time learning to tell jokes now that he has emotion back and can recognize humor.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
The emotion. My editor said this is the most emotional novel I’ve ever written and I think she’s right. Something about Brennan’s almost childlike attempts to cope with 2,000 years’ of lost emotion swamping him all at once; then the way he and Tiernan fight for each other even when they are in so much pain—I admit I cried more than once writing this book.

Reviews: Wow! Everything from “spectacular” and “exemplary” to “a cocktail sauce of awesome.” I’m loving the reviews!

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
High priest Alaric. His path is so tortured, and everyone wants to know what happens with him and Quinn. There is a very emotional scene in Atlantis Redeemed between the two of them; Alaric is starting to crack around the edges a little bit.

What’s next:
Christophe’s book is next – and it’s a heist book! In ATLANTIS BETRAYED, out in September, he encounters a famous British cat burglar and boy, do the sparks fly! Then it’s the first of my new urban fantasy series, also for Berkley. I can’t wait!
For the first time ever, I’m stuck for a title for Denal’s upcoming book. If you can think of a wonderful title (must have Atlantis in it), I’ll put you in the acknowledgements for the book.

There must be prizes! One book to 3 random readers commenting on this blog! Please visit me online at http://www.alyssaday.com for excerpts, a free short story, video interviews, and more. Thank you so much!
Hugs,
Alyssa

Something About You by Julie James

Setting: Chicago
Subgenre: Contemporary romance (with a suspense subplot)
Hero: Jack Pallas
Heroine: Cameron Lynde

One sentence summary: When Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde witnesses a high-profile murder in the hotel room next to hers, she is reunited with her former colleague, Special Agent Jack Pallas, and the two of them must put aside their past conflicts and work together to catch the killer… before the killer finds Cameron first.

Scene you like most and would never cut: A love scene between the hero and heroine that takes place at a wedding. I think the dynamics and dialogue in that scene show how much their relationship has changed from the beginning of the book, where they *think* they can’t stand each other.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “These are lovely, but I already have enough shoes.”

What celebrity is your hero like: Jason Bourne or a taller, darker version of Jack Bauer. (Technically not celebrities, I know, but that’s who I thought of.)

What celebrity is your heroine like: Eva Green’s character in Casino Royale, Vesper Lynd. (Yep, I even borrowed the last name.)

What is your heroine’s occupation: She’s the top Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

What is your hero’s occupation: He’s an FBI Special Agent. And I’m pretty sure he can kill people with his thumb.

What you think readers will like best about this book: The humor and the interplay between the hero and heroine. Jack is basically Jason Bourne dumped into a romantic comedy. He’s all dark and scowling and trying the save the day, while everyone else around him is cracking jokes. As for Cameron, she’s got her act together, and thinks she has her life figured out, until she’s at the wrong place at the wrong time and witnesses a murder that unexpectedly brings Jack back into her life.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: Jeremy, Jason’s best friend in Just the Sexiest Man Alive. The challenge with writing Jeremy’s story, however, would be in keeping Jason from dominating every scene. As the world’s biggest movie star, Jason tends to think the spotlight should be on him.

What’s next: I’m currently finishing up my fourth book, about a wealthy wine store owner who agrees to pose as the girlfriend of an undercover FBI agent (as part of a sting operation) in exchange for her twin brother’s release from prison.

Question of the Day and giveaway: Oh, the pressure to come up with a challenging, thought-provoking question…. how about this: Do you have different expectations of heroes and heroines in contemporary romances versus other subgenres? Two randomly-chosen people who leave a comment below will win a copy of Something About You. And I’ll be dropping by throughout the day to answer any questions!
More information about Julie James and her books can be found at www.juliejames.com.

REMINDER: Romcon is fastly descending upon us & we want you there — stop by Romconinc.com for details!

Happy Romance & congrats to our winners — note your name below & email SueG with your snail mail address, sgrimsha@bordersgroupinc.com:

Monday - Christy’s winners: Amanda; Lisa G; Maered

Tuesday - Danielle’s winners: Sarah 53121; Isabel; PatL

Wednesday - Kate’s winners: Cailla; Barbara Elness; Amber S; Anna Shah; Rebecca Ringler

Thursday - Sue’s winner: Angelique Richardson

Friday - Cara & Lauren’s winners: Deb; vickey r; Jane C; Kristin; Denise

***************

First week of March & have we got the line-up for you!

Sunday - Francis Ray!

Monday - Sophia Nash

Tuesday - Pamela Clare

Wednesday - Julie James

Thursday - Louisa Edwards - FREE short story!

Friday, Saturday & Sunday - Sheila Clover of Readers Entertainment/COS is covering Christine Feehan’s, Fan 2010 - on the spot, minute 2 minute updates — just like you’re there!

Hope to see you next week! Happy Romance!

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah was an engaging read. It is not lightweight, frivolous, or funny and definitely not a beach read. Which is good because it’s currently pouring rain at my house. With the stormy weather the ambiance was perfectly cozy to read it until late at night when I should have been in bed sleeping. Two children getting up before the sun rises means a tired mother. Yet Winter Garden kept my attention, my feelings were engaged, I was hooked on the story, and it made me cry. Twice. Any book that makes me cry gets five stars as there have only been a couple of books that I have ever read that have had that kind of power.

The story starts off with two sisters, Meredith and Nina Whitson, and showed how they were completely different and not familiar with each other. Meredith has a husband who was a childhood love and two beautiful grown children. Meredith works for the family business and leads a busy life. Yet she is depressed and closed off from her husband as both of her children have left the family nest to attend college. Nina is a free bird, living the nomadic photography lifestyle while hardly checking in with her family as she wanders around torn countries. Nina has a man that she sees frequently in the course of her travels yet keeps him at arms length emotionally.

The two girls had grown apart years ago as they have had their disapproving mother, Anya, never love or care for them throughout the years and that affected their relationship. Even with their attentive and loving father around to keep the family together, it was never enough. Of course, tragedy strikes as their father becomes ill and forces Anya and her two daughters to be together to learn more about each other and explore Anya’s past so her daughters can finally know about their mother.

The fascinating part about this story is that it features a fairy tale that Anya tells throughout the book. It is shrouded in mystery and takes place in Leningrad, which is now modern day Saint Petersburg. It is a love story and has been a source of tension in the family as Anya has never told the ending. She has finally been compelled to tell the ending and explain her own personal mysteries to her daughters. The fairy tale starts off in a very mystical way and had me a little skeptical at how it was going to continue. This didn’t feel like the type of mystical book I was getting in to. As the fairy tale went on, the details in the story slightly changed and with that change, you will discover some interesting facts about the life that Anya led before she came to America and married Evan Whitson.

The main character of Meredith was a hard read. If you have any personal sadness in your life, Meredith will hit you hard as she has closed herself off and is most obviously severely depressed. Honestly, there were a few times where I wanted to close the book because I couldn’t feel like I could read anymore on how Meredith could show how depressed she was! I’m glad I didn’t seriously think about closing the book, it was a great story. The fairy tale was amazing but very graphic on war related items. It was sad to read and hard to imagine. While a few of the plots in the book were obvious on where they would end, the main plot with Anya and her daughters took many unexpected twists that were thrilling to read and also very tragic.

I can only imagine that Kristin Hannah has a sister, or a large family, and intimately knows rough waters of family life because her past books like True Colors, Between Sisters, or Summer Island are striking family ties in such a heartfelt way. When you feel like your parents don’t love you, or are not proud of you, Hannah describes those feelings perfectly. Hannah is able to guide you through forced family meetings that you feel you have attended in your own life, yet somehow get you through to the end and show you that it is possible to have a happy ending.

If you have family members whom you love yet have had problems in the past with, you need to pick up a Kristin Hannah novel. Winter Garden was remarkable in family issues and the astounding storytelling of Leningrad in the 1940’s. I highly recommend it.

Have you ever had issues with your mother or siblings that you couldn’t work out? Remember that life can be unexpected. Be sure to let your family members know you care about them.

Kristi can be found rambling about life at http://www.KristiBug.com

Kate Douglas - known for her sexy Chanku shapeshifters in the popular erotic paranormal series, Wolf Tales, but her newest series from Kensington, The DemonSlayers, takes her out of the realm of erotic shapeshifters and into a world populated by demons, mythological warriors, and the humans brave enough to join them in the ages old battle of good versus evil.
www.katedouglas.com

Tag line: It’s the ultimate battle of good versus evil—the demon’s the good guy, and he’s got just one week to save the world, or all hell breaks loose.

My thanks to Borders Books for giving me this great opportunity to post. This is a really exciting week for me as my very first mass market paranormal, DemonFire, the first in my new DemonSlayers series, is just out. I got to thinking about the dynamics of coming up with a new series, of changing genres, and the process that we, as authors, go through in order to create a story. And ya know what? It’s not nearly as mysterious as it sounds.

I’ve been busy with my Wolf Tales series for Kensington Aphrodisia now since the first book debuted in January 2006, but last year I realized I was ready for something else as well. My agent, Jessica Faust, and I were brainstorming new ideas—

Jessica: Demons are popular. Got any ideas for a demon story? Something big!

Me: Not really. Big? Good versus evil…that’s big. (laughing…what a stupid idea!)

Jessica: I like it! Send me a proposal…

And thus the DemonSlayers series was born. I imagine all books begin, at some point, with the author asking that simple question: What if…? Okay…good versus evil? What if the balance between good and evil were reaching a tipping point—in Evil’s favor? What if demons were streaming into our world unchecked? What if the only one who could stop them was another demon? And what if the one woman with the power to save that good demon’s life didn’t believe in demonkind at all?

Once I began asking myself that blasted “what if” question, I couldn’t stop. Ideas kept popping into my head and before long I knew these characters—Dax, a demon too good for hell, booted out of Abyss and hired by the good folk of Eden to save Earth from demonkind. He’s got a human body—an avatar, of sorts—that’s only good for one week, and all of his demon powers are stored within a tattoo of a serpent that snakes from his thigh to his heart. Unfortunately, he’s cursed by demonfire as he enters Earth’s dimension, and the curse turns his powers against him.

Then there’s Eddy Marks, a pragmatic newspaper reporter. She believes in things she can see and feel and understand, but the naked man she finds injured and bleeding—and impossibly under attack by a garden gnome wielding a pitchfork in her potting shed—knocks all her preconceptions out the window. Her biggest surprise comes when she learns she has the power to control Dax’s horrible demon curse.

Eddy’s got a foster dog—Bumper—a cross between a pit bull and a standard poodle, described as looking like a pit bull in a Shirley Temple wig, and Dax has Willow, a tiny will o’ the wisp who feeds him energy and helps him understand his human body. There’s Ed Marks, Eddy’s dad, who believes in all things paranormal, including Lemurians, the mythological warriors who supposedly live deep within the extinct volcano of Mt. Shasta that looms over the town of Evergreen.

So, what if Lemuria really exists? It must, because Alton of Artigos, the six foot, eight inch Lemurian warrior is every bit as real to me as either Dax or Eddy…or Bumper or Willow or Ed Marks. This is a good thing, because it takes every single one of them to battle the demons descending on the tiny town of Evergreen.

As Dax’s week flies by at breakneck speed, as he battles the demon curse tattooed across his torso and Eddy fights falling in love with a man with the lifespan of a moth, the demon king grows stronger and the threat to all mankind more ominous. The battle of good versus evil reaches an unimaginable climax on the slopes of Mount Shasta, but it’s a wild ride to the finish with unexpected results.

What’s next for the DemonSlayers? Book 2, HellFire, will be out in September 2010, when the Lemurian warrior, Alton of Artigos, teams up with Eddy’s best friend Ginny Jones to fight a new demon invasion near the town of Sedona, Arizona. In the ultimate battle of good versus evil, it often takes the strangest of comrades—and lovers—to even the odds.

For a first chapter excerpt of DemonFire (and one of HellFire!) go to www.kensingtonbooks.com/demonslayers.

And let me know, because I really am curious, if you’ve followed authors who’ve switched genres. A lot of us are doing it—for me, the change isn’t so drastic as I’m merely going from erotic paranormal to sexy paranormal, but what about the BIG switches—from contemporary to historical, for instance, or contemporary to paranormal? And what about those authors who write across the spectrum? Lately it seems that we’re just all over the board. I love reading old authors in new genres, but what about you?

GIVEAWAY: I’ll be giving away five copies of DemonFire, or if the winner already has the book, they can exchange it for a copy of one of my Wolf Tales or Sexy Beast books.

3 Swoon-Worthy Hero Quotes and a Scene
by Michelle of Michelle and Leslie’s Book Picks

I signed up to do this post with no idea what I’m going to write about for this post. I couldn’t think of a topic so I’m just going to let some of my favorite heroes to do the talking and I hope that’s okay. They are better with words (especially swoon-worthy ones) anyway right? I love to read historical and paranormal romances best so I’m going to share with you three of my favorite swoon-worthy historical hero quotes and a scene from one of my favorite paranormals:

WARNING: There may be spoilers if you haven’t read the book!

1. Nathan and Evelyn were married but estranged for years. Evelyn wants nothing to do with him but Nathan was determined to woo his wife and convince her that their marriage was worth saving. Nathan and Evelyn were dining picnic-style in their morning room (which Nathan prepared) and talking about what they remembered from their marriage when he said this:

“In your eyes it seems every bump, every cross word, is the measure. Do you want to know else I remember, Evelyn? Not every cross word. Not every bump. I remember how you look in the morning… the sound of your laughter… how you hair catches the candlelight… flowers in your hair and how beautiful you were the day I married you… the brilliant glow of happiness in your eyes when you told me you carried our child.” –Nathan Grey (page 209 of The Book of Scandal by Julia London)

2. I don’t think this hero needs an introduction but Sebastian was the baddest, most caustic hero I’ve read in a historical romance. I loved reading both this sardonic comebacks and his swoon-worthy ones.

“Evie… during the past few days I’ve had nothing to do but lie in this bed and think about things that I’ve spent my entire life trying to avoid. I once told you that I wasn’t meant for a wife and family. That I wouldn’t have have any interest in a child… the truth is I want you to have my baby. I didn’t know how much until I thought that I would never have the opportunity… Damn it. I don’t know how to be a husband, or a father. But since your standards in both areas seem to be relatively low, I may have half a chance at pleasing you.” –Sebastian, Viscount St. Vincent (page 319 of Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas)

3. I love classic Judith McNaught books and all her books have great hero quotes. But if I had to choose one from JM, it will have to be that almost last scene in the cabin with Ian and Elizabeth. It always gets me every time no matter how many times I read it.

“If you would take one step forward, darling, you could cry in my arms. And while you do, I’ll tell you how sorry I am for everything I’ve done… And when I’m finished you can help me find a way to forgive myself.” --Ian Thornton (page 501 of Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught)

4. This is not a quote but a scene and it features Zsadist (a bad-ass but very scarred hero) and Bella. It’s one of my all-time favorite scenes in romance. I was bawling my eyes out when I read this scene:

Flipping the spiral notebook to a new page, he bent way over and labored on top of the paper for quite a while. Then he ripped the sheet free. His hand was shaking as he held it out. “It’s messy.”
Bella took the paper. In a child’s uneven block letters there were three words: I LOVE YOU

Her lips flattened tight as her eyes stung. The handwriting got wavy and then disappeared.
“Maybe you can’t read it,” he said in a small voice. “I can do it over.” (page 423 of Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward)

Now your turn to share your favorite swoon-worthy hero quote(s) or scene(s) from your favorite romance.

Maybe some of us will even find a new title to add to our romance to buy list or rediscover an old favorite