trueromance

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

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!

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

Setting: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Subgenre: Women’s Fiction
Hero: Rafael Dunlap
Heroine: Nathalyia Fontaine

One sentence summary: A bet between friends leads to a passionate romance and redemption..

Scene you like most and would never cut: A difficult question, but I think there are two scenes in IF YOU WERE MY MAN that I really like. Both set the tone for the book. The first scene is that of Rafael and Nathalyia’s initial meeting when he tries to entice her to go out with him to discuss the service at Fontaine, her restaurant. He strikes out big time when she hands him a menu and tells him she isn’t on it. Rafael takes her refusal as a challenge. The chase is on, but who will catch whom.

The second scene is when Jake, the bald-headed bartender and confident of Nathalyia, forgets himself and kisses Clarice, the younger, full-figured waitress he secretly yearns for. Jake has a scar on his heart as well as on his face and back-paddles as fast as he can. However, act-before you-think Clarice is not about to let that happen even if she has to resort to some unorthodox methods.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “If you don’t like the food or the service, there’s the door.” Nathalyia lives and breathes Fontaine. It is her duty and also her pleasure to make sure that Fontaine, the restaurant/bar, left to her by her late husband, succeeds. She’ll bend over backwards to ensure that her customers have an exemplary dining experience. Fontaine is more than a restaurant to her, it is a shining example that, although she came from nothing, she has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams and expectations.

What celebrity is your hero like: I think Rafael is like Denzel Washington. Both are gorgeous with a lean, muscular build, charming and charismatic. When needed, both can be a force to be reckoned with. Both have the ‘it’ factor. As a hostage negotiator, Rafael has the intelligence and steely determination to overcome any obstacle placed in his path - be it a criminal or a reluctant Nathalyia.

What celebrity is your heroine like: Nathalyia is a cross between Vanessa L. Williams, and Angelina Jolie. Like Ms. Williams, Nathalyia is stunning with a keen intelligence and quick smile. She’s been down, but hard work has taken her to the top of her profession. She knows how to win people over, but if pushed, like Angelina Jolie, she pushes back.

What is your heroines occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
Nathalyia is sole proprietor of Fontaine, a popular seafood restaurant/bar near the ocean in Myrtle Beach. The restaurant was entrusted to her by her late husband, the only person in her life who gave to her without expecting something in return. She loves Fontaine and takes her responsibility seriously. She wants nothing to interfere, least of all a man who makes her pulse pound and her body want his.

What is your heroes occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Rafael is a hostage negotiator with S.O.R.T. - Special Operations Response Team - with the Myrtle Beach Police Department. He’s very dedicated. Even when he’s off duty he doesn’t drink alcohol because he never knows when he might receive a call from his commander.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
I think readers will enjoy watching playboy Rafael unknowingly fall in love, then have to go all out to win Nathalyia’s love. Women have always come easy to Rafael with his fallen angel looks and easy-going-manner. Not even to himself has he admitted why three weeks is the longest he stays in a relationship. Nathalyia is a woman who makes him forget all the rules he’s lived by when dating - except one - which will test both of them.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
I received Emails almost on a daily basis asking about Rio. Rio was first seen in ONLY YOU, book # 5 in the Grayson Friends series, then again in THE WAY YOU LOVE ME and ONE NIGHT WITH YOU, books # 1 and #3 in the new Grayson Friends Series. Rio is the strong, silent, gorgeous type. You never know what he’s thinking. His unblinking gaze can be as cold as an ice. He’s deadly and anyone who meets him knows it. He solemnly watched his two best friends, Blade Navarone and Shane Elliott, fall in love. But home and hearth aren’t for Rio. He walks alone. Or so he thinks. There’s a woman waiting for Rio and she’s going to turn his orderly world upside down…and make him like it!!!

What’s next: Coming March 30 is FOREVER YOURS, a reissue and the first book in the Taggart/Falcon series. FOREVER YOURS is a marriage of convenience story. Victoria Chandler needs to marry or lose her chain of lingerie stores, Lavender and Lace. She wants a malleable man who will sign a pre-nup, then get lost until time for the divorce a year later. She gets Kane Taggart, a man who can be controlled as easily as a twister, a man who will settle for nothing less than a lifetime.

****

Thank to Borders for the opportunity to blog. It’s always a pleasure to connect with readers. To thank those who stop by I’m giving away three (3) books in a random drawing. A winner will be selected from blog posts. First prize: a first edition copy of Fallen Angel, my first book published in 1993. Second prize is a copy of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU - the first book in the Graysons of New Mexico series. Third prize is a copy of ONLY YOU, the book in which Rio makes his first appearance. Winners will be notified by email.

I’m always interested in learning what readers think about characters, especially the hero and heroine. I do my best to write about men we can fall in love with and women we can root for. Since I write contemporary romances, I’d like to know your thoughts on the most endearing or annoying characteristic a hero or heroine can exhibit? In other words, what makes you sigh or makes you want to grit your teeth. LOL. Please do not provide specific names, titles or author’s names in your answer.

Thanks again for allowing me to spend time with each of you and I hope that you will write and let me know what you think of IF YOU WERE MY MAN at www.francisray.com.

Lauren Willig writes the acclaimed “Pink Carnation” series for Dutton, and her latest book, “The Betrayal of the Blood Lily” comes out in January ‘10. Cara Elliott (whose real name is Andrea DaRif) debuts her new “Circle of Sin” trilogy in March ’10 with “To Sin With A Scoundrel.”(She also writes historical mystery romance under the pen name Andrea Pickens.)

These best selling authors are teaching a course at Yale U: READING THE HISTORICAL ROMANCE.

What was the genesis of the course; how did you two come up w/the idea and what was/is your goal in teaching the course?
(to read the syllabus click here)

LW: Two Yalie romance writers find themselves next to an open bar…. There is, as there always is, a bit more back-story to it. Over the past few years, I’ve become involved in the burgeoning romance scholarship movement, as a group of academics have fought to build a critical apparatus around the study of popular romance novels, not just as sociological artifacts, but as texts. It’s a movement that’s been spearheaded by Professor Eric Selinger at DePaul and Professor Sarah Frantz at Fayetteville, both of whom were instrumental in putting together the Princeton conference on popular romance last spring. There are dissertations being written on Heyer, on Cruisie, on Roberts, just as there are on E.M. Forster or Hemingway. (At last year’s Popular Culture Association conference, I got to hear papers on the use of the first person in Mary Stewart’s “Nine Coaches Waiting”, the symbolism of food in J.D. Robb, and inversions of status in American-written Regencies. I gave a paper on the uses and abuses of history in historical romance.) It’s an incredibly rich and interesting field, all the more so because it’s been neglected for so long.

Fast forward to last spring, as Cara and I sipped glasses of wine during the intermission of Lady Jane’s Salon, discussing romance scholarship and how we would structure a class if we had the chance. It suddenly occurred to us—why not?

CE: Oh, right, the open bar definitely came into play! The idea for the seminar began with one of those fun, serendipitous moments . . . Lauren and I ran into each other at Lady Jane’s Salon, a monthly romance reading series in downtown New York City, and as fellow Yale grads, we started comparing notes on our experiences there. As we chatted, we starting joking around, saying, “Oh, you know, we should really propose to teach a college seminar on romance novels and how they should be treated as a serious literary genre—the students would probably love it.”

We both laughed . . . and then a simultaneous spark lit in our eyes. “Oh, let’s go for it!” we both said. And so began the process of putting together a formal proposal and week-by-week syllabus of readings and discussion topics. Lauren’s sister Brooke, a junior at Yale, was a fabulous sounding board for ideas and books, and together we polished up a presentation.

After passing the first few hurdles, we were called to New Haven to interview before a group of twenty students and two faculty members. They asked great questions, and I think our enthusiasm for the subject came through loud and clear (neither of us has any trouble talking about books and why we love them!)

In any case, our proposal was accepted, and received the stamp of approval from the English department, so come January, historical romance will “go Ivy League!”

What was it like to interview in front of a panel of students?

LW: There was something a bit surreal about being interviewed in a college dining hall (the smell of baked scrod brought me right back!), but it was an incredibly invigorating experience. It was a large panel of interviewers, about twenty at a guess, composed of both faculty and students, which meant they brought a very wide range of approaches and questions. We got to speak about everything from how one would define the term “romance novel” to the intricacies of English society in the early nineteenth century.

CE: And we brought down the house with a mention of Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan’s website Smart Bitches, Trashy Books! They loved it (humor is very important in our books) I thought the sherry-colored wood paneling was going to pop off the walls. And that’s exactly what we are trying to do—shake up the old perceptions of romance as mere “bodice rippers.”

Was there a question put to you that stands out as something very astute or that may have caused you to think about romance fiction in a way you hadn’t? In other words, were there moments when you were surprised by how folks saw romance in a good light, but perhaps one you’d never considered?

LW: I don’t know if I’d call this the most astute, but the question that left the deepest impression on me was whether we expected to have only women in the course. When I told them that the scholar on the forefront of putting romance on the academic map was, in fact, a man, I could see the entire room take notice. Although it is a small point, it makes our larger point that this is a literary field worthy of general study by interested and intelligent people of either gender. Should guys study romance novels, too? Hell, yes.

CE: That really was an interesting moment. As Lauren says, you could see something click in both the men and women. The question had been asked half in jest, but I think the answer made them think—and in a very good way.

LW: On top of that, I think the focused nature of the class also caught their attention. We tailored the class around the Regency romance—not only because we both write it and men in knee breeches are always a Good Thing—but because it provides a self-contained field through which we can track the development of a genre in a comprehensive way. Our class starts with Jane Austen’s “Northanger Abbey”, moves through Heyer and Woodiwiss, looks at changing attitudes towards sexuality and heroism in a variety of authors over a thirty year time span, going right up through Regency paranormals and chick lit. Some of the tropes and changes we look at are unique to the Regency romance, but many mirror developments in the romance community as a whole. The fact that there are sub-genres within romance, each with its own traditions and trajectory, rather than just a monolith known as “oh, romance novels”, clearly made the students on the panel stop and think.

What strength/s do each of you bring to the course?

CE: I think one of the great things about this collaboration is that Lauren and I bring a pretty unique set of skills to the course. We both have a good undergrad grounding in history, and I have a Masters degree in Graphic Design from Yale while she has a Masters degree in History from Harvard, as well as a Harvard Law degree. So it’s a fun left-brain/right brain sort of thing—and together we make the complete package! Lauren brings a really impressive formal academic experience to share with the students, while my background in art and visual communication adds a different perspective.

But most importantly, we both are really passionate about romance and what we write, and I think that comes through when we discuss it. Our goal in this course is to share our excitement in the creative process, as well as to inspire an appreciation and respect for the romance genre. Hey, it’s time for the world to recognize that smart women write romance—and smart women (and even smarter men) read romance! We hope that we can help spread the word.

LW: Both of us bring a passion for the subject, years of experience as readers of the genre, and a nuts and bolts perspective as practitioners. On top of that, we each have our own unique skills. Back in the day, I pursued a doctorate in English history at that Other School (the Crimson one in Cambridge). The doctorate got away from me, but not before I spent several years scribbling endless dissertation notes, teaching undergrad classes, and generally doing the whole academic thing. One of my various teaching appointments was on the tutorial board of Harvard’s History and Literature department, which seems particularly appropriate for a class like this. As a lapsed historian, I contribute the history side of things and lots of war stories about grading papers, while Cara brings in the more textual, literary approach. It’s worked perfectly as a balance.

Why Yale?

LW: It was a combination of affection, opportunity, and geography. Both Cara and I are devoted Yale grads with lots of warm and fuzzy feelings about our alma mater. I live in New York and Cara in Connecticut, so, for a commute to class, Yale lies nicely in the middle. Not to mention those amazing caramel lattes at Atticus, which I will now get to drink regularly.

CE: And Yale has a wonderful undergraduate program where each semester, the 12 residential colleges sponsor courses that are supposed to be a bit “outside the box” and allow students to work with notable professionals in fields ranging from sports and art to music and literature. (One of the highlights of my student experience was the chance to study the art of the children’s book with Maurice Sendak.)

So we thought that this was the perfect place for the course we wanted to create. It’s incredibly exciting to have this opportunity, and we are really looking forward to it.

What questions would you ask these talented, instructors? Would you entertain taking a course about Reading Romance?
Answer below & you may be one of 5 winners to be randomly chosen to win a copy of Cara or Lauren’s books!

This is a continuation from a previous post the RJ’s did for us — there were so many good ideas we just had to break them down into 2 posts — read on . . . .

RJ Reviewer Chrissy has Print and eBooks on her “can’t wait to read” list…

1. INSIDE OUT by Lauren Dane – releases November 2010 – loved the first two books in the series and can’t wait to find out what happens next.

2. SWEET TEMPTATION by Maya Banks – releases April 2010 – loved the other books in the series.

3. THE HELLION AND THE HIGHLANDER by Lynsay Sands – releases February 23, 2010 and 4. TAMING THE HIGHLAND BRIDE by Lynsay Sands – releases January 26, 2010 – I’ve never read this author before but love Highland stories and these look like they’d be fun reads

And for ebooks (because you KNOW I can’t leave those out

SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER by Donna Alward (Samhain) – releases April 13, 2010

And

2 HOT TO HANDLE by Kelly Jamieson (Samhain) – releases February 2, 2010

When asked if whether she has noticed a trend in her wish-list-making this year, Chrissy commented…

The only trend I really notice in my reading is I’m reading a lot more fun, lighthearted reads. Mostly contemporaries but I throw in paranormals, historical, and whatever else interests me. LOL I’m a mood reader! Oh and let’s not forget…. An eye-catching cover will gravitate me towards a specific book too.

Are you an e-book reader? What are some of your fav’s?

RJ Reviewer Cindy has 4 authors and their 2010 books on her “must have” list!

1. Terri Brisbin- Storm of Pleasure Sept 10: I reviewed Storm of Passion and was mesmerized, I can’t wait for this one.

2. Deborah Cooke- Whisper Kiss Oct 10: Winter Kiss was so epic, I can’t wait for what comes next.

3. Erin McCarthy- Hot Finish Aug 10: This series is so hot, plus I love NASCAR. Plus Erin McCarthy is simply a joy to read.

4. Anything by Sarah McCarty and Beth Williamson.

Both write very hot, emotional and action packed historical romances. They’re both auto-buys and I’ve never been disappointed by either.

When asked if whether she has noticed a trend in her wish-list-making this year, Cindy commented…

Except for sci/fi futuristics, dragons or shifters, I find I am being let down more often by paranormal/fantasy romance.

RJ Reviewer Rosie Bindra is most looking forward to this year…

Larissa Ione’s Ecstasy Unveiled (Jan. 26, 2010) - I reviewed the first three books in this series and completely fell in love. I thought it brought something new and different to the paranormal genre and really stood out.

Patricia Brigg’s Silver Borne (March 30, 2010) - I reviewed the first book in the series and have been in love ever since. It’s one of the few series books that has managed to keep me completely engrossed to the point where I have to read the new book on the day it comes out. Mercy (the lead character) is just a kick-ass girl and I can’t get enough of her.

Kresley Cole’s Pleasure of a Dark Prince (Feb. 16, 2010) - I’ve never reviewed any books from this series but managed to snag a copy of the first book as a freebie and it was the best freebie ever. I love how Kresley combines all different creatures and myths and brings them into one series. I never get tired of her books because they all focus on different parts of the lore.

When asked if whether she has noticed a trend in her wish-list-making this year, Rosie commented…

Oh, as for the trend in my wish list, I’ve noticed I’m starting to lean towards the sci-fi romance books lately. Books like Patricia Brigg’s Mercy series or a new series I just discovered, Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series.

Leslie Larsen, RJ Reviewer, responded about the Romance she’s looking forward to this year…

I noticed that Blood Promise by Rashelle Mead was reviewed this past year. It is a young adult romance novel and is apart of the Vampire Academy Series. I absolutely love these books. The fifth and last installment into this series is Spirit Bound. I can’t wait to read it! This young adult series has romance, adventure, magic, mystery, everything that I love!

What about you? Can you keep your list of Romance books that you’re looking forward to most limited to a top 10 for 2010? Or are you a ‘Junkie’ too and have a list to match ours? Share your lists and why you’re hungering for more books by your favorite authors with us and we’ll build TBR Mountain Ranges together!

Or better yet… let us know if we’ve sparked your interest in a ‘new to you’ author for 2010! Nothing we like better than sharing the love!

Tell us if you see a trend in your reading choices for 2010, because some of ours are changing even though we still have our favorites.

“New York Times”-bestselling author Maxwell delivers a wonderful new book in the exciting Scandals and Seductions series.

Dear Readers,

Some books just flow, or at least it seems that way AFTER I write them. THE MARRIAGE RING is one of those. I adore Grace. You met her in IN A HIGHLANDER’S BED and SEDUCTION AT CHRISTMAS. Her story is the follow up to THE EARL CLAIMS HIS WIFE. In fact, her tale begins minutes after THE EARL CLAIMS HIS WIFE ends.

I’m toying here with the idea of opposites attract. I’m not always certain they do. I believe we are a bit fascinated by what is new and different . . . but for a lifetime?

Then again, the people who teach us the important lessons about life are always those who challenge us. Grace does that for Richard Lynsted. Or is it Richard who teaches Grace a thing or two she didn’t know?

Either way, I had great fun telling their story. The MARRIAGE RING hits bookshelves March 2010.

Question of the Day: What was your marriage proposal like? Something Memorable? Comment below & we’ll randomly choose 3 winners to receive a selection of Avon books.

We also have an excerpt up now to give you a taste of the story.

Setting: My characters travel a lot in this novel, so the setting covers Ft. Worth, St. Louis, New York, England, Las Vegas, Monaco, Bucharest, and Marseille.
Subgenre: Paranormal romance
Hero: Spade, real name Charles, centuries-old Master vampire
Heroine: Denise, 28 year old human

One sentence summary: Denise wants nothing to do with the vampire world and Spade is determined never to fall for a human again, but when a demon shapeshifter targets Denise, Spade is the only person who can help her.

Scene you like most and would never cut: It’s so hard to pick just one scene! I had several wouldn’t-cut-for-the-world favorites in this book. I’ll defer to readers, who’ve most commented about a scene where Denise and Spade are on a boat and the true effects of the demon’s brands on Denise are revealed (readers who’ve gotten an early look at First Drop, no spoilers in the comments, please :).

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: My poor heroine! Her life gets turned upside down in this novel, so whatever she thought she’d never end up doing/saying, happens.

What celebrity is your hero like: Hmm. I’d say he looks like a cross between actor Hugh Jackman and model Christopher Douglas (haven’t heard of him? Click here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v351/Kailyn/Models/Christopher%20Douglas/)

What celebrity is your heroine like: I picture her as a cross between Kate Beckinsale and Natalie Portman. And yes, as you can tell, I can never just pick one person in my comparisons.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
When the novel starts, Denise works in customer service at a bank. But circumstances soon require her to quit that job and plunge herself into the last place she wants to be – the vampire world.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Vampire society operates like a pyramid scheme, with the Master of the line responsible for the protection and well-being of everyone under him. Spade is a Master, so if someone killed a member of his line, Spade would have to avenge that death and provide for any of the deceased’s family/significant other/children. If someone stole a member of his line, Spade would be required to fight or bargain for their return. But there’s compensation for all that responsibility. Master vampires get ten percent of all their people’s income. If only our government took that small of a slice in taxes, right? *wink*

What you think readers will like best about this book: From early reviews, readers seem to love the heat between Spade and Denise, the deeper look at the vampire world, and the twist at the end (side note: I love it when readers say they couldn’t guess the ending in advance!)

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
This is easy – Vlad. I get more “please write a Vlad book!” emails from readers than any other character. I’m thrilled by this, because I’d love to write a few books featuring Vlad. We’ll see at the next contract time if I can convince my publisher to love the idea of Vlad books, too. Cross your fingers for me, readers!

What’s next:
Eternal Kiss of Darknesss, book two in the Night Huntress World novels, comes out July 27th. This features the mega-powerful vampire Mencheres as the hero, plus a new character named Kira as the heroine. In October, Cat and Bones have a short story in Death’s Excellent Vacation, an anthology edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner. And in early 2011, the as-yet-unnamed fifth book in the Night Huntress series featuring Cat and Bones comes out.

Thanks so much for having me on the blog! I’m very excited about First Drop of Crimson and can’t wait to share Spade and Denise’s story with everyone.
Since one of the events in this novel centers around an unexpected supernatural ability, readers – if you could suddenly have one superpower, anything at all, what would it be? Comment to be entered in a random drawing giving away three copies of First Drop of Crimson.

Sneak Peak - click here: (http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061583223

From Nicole Jordan:
Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder—and the Libido

Beauty is a strange quality. We all know that because of the way nature works, the first thing that usually registers in a man’s brain (aka his libido) is the way a woman looks. Generally speaking, when a guy meets a woman, if she measures up to his standard of beauty, his engines start revving, and the courtship is on. It takes longer for a woman’s personality, intelligence, energy, and wit to score on a guy’s attraction meter, not to mention any advantages he might find in her financial or social station.

That’s why the heroine in my new Regency historical, To Tame a Dangerous Lord, is immediately skeptical when an ultra sexy, dashingly handsome war hero nobleman proposes marriage shortly after they meet. You see, Madeline Ellis is not only a commoner, a member of the working class, she is, well, outright plain. And she knows it. And is comfortable with it. Rayne Kenyon, Earl of Haviland, has a bevy of beauties (not to mention their eager marriage-minded mamas) swarming around him like gnats. So why would he be interested in marrying her?

And then Madeline learns his intention: He wants a broodmare. And no emotional involvement. Madeline is plain, but she isn’t stupid. Rayne Kenyon can take a flying Regency leap, as far as she’s concerned, because she’d rather die a spinster than marry simply to bear a man’s children in a loveless marriage of convenience.

I so enjoyed writing this fifth novel in my Courtship Wars series because Madeline isn’t the classic beauty we Regency authors usually cast in the lead role of our stories, mainly because beauty was so highly regarded during that era. I had as much fun leading Madeline to discover her attraction quotient as I did making Rayne realize that she’s stolen his heart for a slew of reasons that have nothing to do with classic beauty—her spirit and courage (when she’s fending off lecherous stalkers), her loyalty to family and friends (when she’s trying to save her younger brother from hanging), and her ability to keep Rayne constantly challenged (every time they get together!)

Anyone who has ever thought she was too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, flat-chested, big-hipped, possessed a big nose or squinty eyes, overly straight hair or curly hair, ugly nails, big feet or crow’s feet—in other words, most of us —will relate to Madeline. Will get a kick out of watching Rayne crank up the courtship in order to convince Madeline that he not only loves her but that he finds her immensely, soul-deep beautiful. For there is a visceral appeal when a man thinks we’re beautiful—even if (especially if!) we’re not.

I’ve often thought how scary it must be for a celebrity whose looks are her stock-in-trade. What will happen when the camera no longer finds her beautiful?

How about you? When it comes to beauty, how important is it that the heroines in the romance novels you read be able to turn a man’s head? Have you ever considered yourself “plain” only to be told that you are beautiful? Do you think beauty is more or less important in today’s world than it was in Regency times?

* To find out more about Madeline and Rayne’s latest romantic battle in the Courtship Wars, check out www.NicoleJordanAuthor.com, where you’ll find chapter excerpts, character blogs, monthly contests, and downloadable color bookmarks!

** From today’s commenters I’ll randomly draw a name to win a lovely pair of vintage-inspired earrings, plus your choice of an earlier Courtship Wars romance, TO PLEASURE A LADY, TO BED A BEAUTY, TO SEDUCE A BRIDE, or TO ROMANCE A CHARMING ROGUE, so post often!

Reader, Danielle Yockman:

With the holidays just past I still have boxes on the brain. So much effort goes into figuring out how to fit all the gifts into the available boxes. And heaven help you if you have a really odd shaped gift! All that focus on boxes got me thinking about boxes in relation to reading.
I have a reading box. No it is not a box I sit in to read. It is not a box of books. It is a box made up of the particular genre I typically read. My box is a history box. I like it there, safely in the past where men are men and women get to be beautiful in ball gowns and dainty slippers. I also love women in history who defy gender roles and then find men who must learn to live with the switch in order to love them.
I have always identified myself as a historical romance reader (and aspiring writer). It is a box I love. I have been very comfortable with my lords and ladies. Every once in a while I would poke my head out of my box to try other romance genres. Alas, I would

Then this summer I discovered paranormal romance. I know. I know all of you vampire/shapeshifter fan girls are like what?! But they’re so hawt! It’s true I only just discovered paranormals. I found a free read online, Kiss of Midnight from Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed series. I was camping on Mount Laguna in CA and couldn’t put my phone down the whole weekend. Since then I have begun reading through the whole series. I enjoyed it so much I have also tried Alyssa Day’s Atlantis series and Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series.
Now I must say, I am still a little icked out by shapeshifters, I have never been a fan of hairy men, and the whole vampire bite thing has to be written just right or I get squeamish. The real draw for me, are the kick-ass heroines! I love the gruff attitude-having, black leather-wearing, sword/gun/knife-toting chicks.

Topic for discussion:
I will always be a historical romance reader, but I am certainly learning to step outside my box and enjoy it! I’m curious. What box do you live in? If you have climbed out, where did you go?