trueromance

Check out Borders.com for all of Sophia’s wonderful Historical books, click here - Happy Romance!

Sophia Nash, Secrets of a Scandalous Bride (Feb. 23, 2010)
Setting: London – Regency era
Subgenre: Historical Romance

Hero: Rowland Manning, a hero masquerading as a villain.

Heroine: Elizabeth Ashburton, a widow in the dowager duchess’s secret club—or is she?

One sentence summary:
When Elizabeth Manning is forced to confront the devil from her past, her friends in the dowager duchess’s club can not help her, and she turns to a most unwilling hero . . . Rowland Manning, the most ruthless, enigmatic man in all of England.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
At the end of Chapter 18, Elizabeth reveals that she has done something to make Rowland feel more like he is part of the rest of humanity—not as apart as he thinks. Advance readers mentioned how heart-wrenching it is.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
“Let someone else do it.” Elizabeth never stops to think things through. She just steps into the breach and does the right thing at that moment. She is a classic heroine, yet she deplores her rash actions, never considering that real sin occurs when someone has good intentions but ultimately fails to act.

Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy:
Nothing gets between Rowland Manning and his breeches.

Ancillary character you had the most fun with:
“Ata” or Merceditas St. Aubyn, the Dowager Duchess of Helston, and her stalwart first love, Mr. John Brown have appeared in all of the books in the series. Ata is the name of my French great grandmother. She was a 4’11 ball of fire who loved to laugh and who was saddled with an overbearing 6’2” aristocratic husband. I inserted touches of her life in the series—such as the canary in the gold cage, and her love of riding. Readers will learn Ata’s fate in this story, and the last widow, Sarah Winters’ destiny, too.

Your heroine’s favorite hobby:
Cooking.

Your hero’s favorite hobby:
Not eating.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
The hero in the story, Rowland Manning, was the villain in the last book, “Love with the Perfect Scoundrel.” There was something so mesmerizing about him while I was writing that story that I knew he had to be a hero underneath it all. Rowland is larger than life, and he makes the biggest changes in any book I’ve ever written. I love his jaded wit, his reluctance to play a gallant hero, and his story arc. Elizabeth Ashburton is the only woman brave enough to take him on, and to be worthy of him in the end.

Also, for those curious about the writing process: I had originally thought that the end of the story was about 100 pages earlier than it turned out to be. And my favorite part of “Secrets of a Scandalous Bride” is those same last 100 pages.

Reviews: Booklist and Library Journal have each given the book a *starred review.* “Expertly spiced with deliciously subtle sense of wit, deftly seasoned with a superbly nuanced cast of characters, and featuring a plot brimming with lusciously sensual romance and a dash of dangerous intrigue, Secrets of a Scandalous Bride, is Nash’s best book yet.~Booklist

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
I’ve had many ask me to write stories for Rosamunde’s brothers from “A Dangerous Beauty.”

What’s next:
I’m delighted to report that I’m working on a brand new, exciting series for Avon/HarperCollins! The first book will be out next year. Readers may check for updates in the coming months at www.sophianash.com.

I’m plotting a number of stories for this new series, and I’d love to hear about readers’ favorite plotlines. For example, do you favor stories that feature: a second chance at love, tortured heroes or heroines, alpha/beta males, Cinderella, governess, secret baby, Beauty & the Beast, or any other type?

There must be prizes! One book to 5 random readers commenting on this blog—winner’s choice of title.

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

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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!

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.

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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!

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.

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.

When Verity’s past abruptly finds her, her recent behavior promises to unleash the scandal of the decade. Of more concern to her, she now has to outwit fate or be forced back into a marriage to a lord whom she never freely accepted. She never expects for the stranger who is her husband to create so much sensual excitement, however, or for her quest for the life she was supposed to live instead to reveal a conspiracy that endangers them both.

Read an excerpt, click here

& don’t miss the first in the rarest blooms series, Ravishing in Red

(Hi, my name is Tiffany. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do a guest blog entry!)

Thinking about the first romance novel I ever read led me to wonder how and why I picked up that particular book when I did. Once I started thinking, I discovered the novel was simply a natural progression in my reading development.

Love and happily-ever-after were elements I always enjoyed in my books long before I knew an entire genre dedicated to them existed. Before I started kindergarten, I would spout out passages from Sleeping Beauty, my favorite story, as I looked at the detailed pictures. When I learned to read, there was no stopping me from attempting to find books that ended with “and they lived happily ever after.” Luckily, the school librarian was amazing and had an excellent and diverse taste in children’s books. Through her selected readings, I discovered something truly astounding; the fairytales I knew and loved could be retold in new settings, with different characters, and fresh elements. To this day, I feel the same awe and happiness remembering the librarian’s animated voice depicting the alternate Cinderella tales of The Rough Face Girl and The Egyptian Cinderella.

It was the beginning of my addiction to reading about different cultures and histories. I started checking out books on Greek and Roman myths, Native America tales, Asian folklore, and Arthurian legend. Meanwhile, my love for fairytales and magic had morphed into a love of fantasy. From The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye to Patricia C. Wrede’s Searching For Dragons (my favorite in the series because of the romance), fantasy novels held a special place in my heart. One element common in all the stories I crowned as my favorites was a strong female character. Monica Furlong’s Juniper in particular sticks out in my head as a story with a truly exceptional princess.

My taste in movies and television were a running parallel to the books I read. Belle was my favorite princess of the Disney movies. Not only did she have brunette hair like me, but she loved to read stories about far away places and longed to know more about life than what simply surrounded her. Then, there was my all time favorite storyline of my mother’s soap, All My Children. A poor princess arrives in town, and marries a man she believes to be rich for money. The man, who is actually poor, marries her, believing she is wealthy. The only people they were fooling were each other, but the rest of the characters in the story had a big laugh, seeing how much the two obviously loved each other. Of course, drama ensued, but I have yet to hear a more endearing “princess” from the lips of any man.
Love was very much in my life of fairytales and stories of make-believe and of strong women made their own decisions and followed through the consequences. So, when I eventually found myself staring at a box of my mother’s old romance novels, it doesn’t really come as a surprise. Having a busy high school schedule, I opted for the smaller books–the ones with the deep red spines and italicized writing. I ended up choosing the following two Silhouette Desire books: Donna Carlisle’s It’s Only Make Believe and Diana Palmer’s Lady Love. The titles almost sounded familiar. I don’t remember exactly why I picked Lady Love first, it could have been the name of the heroine (Merlyn Forrest Steele) or the beautiful girl who looked like a princess on the cover (reminding me of a certain cover of The Ordinary Princess), but whatever the reason I picked Lady Love as my first genre romance.

Ten years later, I am still reading romance. I enjoy many sub-genres and authors. Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, and Meredith Duran are my current favorite historical authors. For my paranormal romance authors, I look for world building as a big key for my enjoyment and found Nalini Singh and Sherrilyn Kenyon have made me want to live in their worlds more than once. Julie James, Jennifer Crusie, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips are my must buys for contemporary. And looking at the authors I love today, I can see traces of the stories I first loved and read–strong (and sometimes stubborn) female characters, adventure, different cultures and worlds, love, detailed side-characters, humor, and, of course, a happily ever after.

Looking back at what first interested you in reading and/or reading romance, can you see how you got to where you were? Or, can you see how what started your love is still present in the books and stories you read now?


Comment below & SueG will choose a random winner for a stash of fun reads! Happy Romance!

Hi my name is Rosemary Potter and I own an independent Romance Bookstore, Rosemary’s Romance Books, in Brisbane, Australia. We stock and sell only new Romance Books and we are really proud of our range and dedication to stocking the best that romantic fiction has to offer. Even so it was still a surprise and honor to win the Steffi Walker Bookseller of the Year award in 2009.

To be honest I can’t remember the exact date that that I first discovered that I loved Romance books, but I do remember the first book that got me hooked! The book was Green Darkness by Anya Seton and it was and still is one of the most romantic and enthralling books that I have ever read. I actually made the mistake of loaning the book to a friend and never got it back. So this led me to track down another copy. The only problem was, I didn’t own a fantastic well stocked bookstore at that time and the replacement copy set me back US$185. Still it was money well spent and it has pride of place on the “touch and you die” shelf of my bookcase. Anyway I never imagined then that it would inspire me to own my very own romance bookstore.

I am a great fan of Audio Books as I have quite a lengthy commute from home to work. I find that the majority of Audio that I listen to is Crime and Suspense and any new releases that release as a hardcover. For some reason there isn’t a lot of paranormal fiction available on audio which is a shame. I am currently listening to No Mercy by Lori Armstrong, I have been torturing one of my staff members with tidbits of the plot which will eventually force her to buy it. Other Audio titles that have featured this month include Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz, A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh, Trial by Fire by J.A. Jance and Sizzle by Julie Garwood.

Having the bookstore, my staff and I are lucky to receive Advanced Reading Copies from some of the best in the romantic genre. I am really excited about the March release of Demonfire, a new paranormal series by Kate Douglas, and the April release of His Darkest Hunger by Juliana Stone which is a great paranormal shifter series in the vein of Lora Leigh’s breeds and I haven’t stopped talking about a historical novel called Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner which was a January release.

This month my must read list include Bitter Night (Bk#1) Diana Pharaoh Francis, Blood Cross (Bk#2) Faith Hunter, Tempest Rising (Bk #1) Nicole Peeler, Blood Kin (Bk #3) Maria Lima, Beyond the Night (Bk #1) Joss Ware, Three Days to Dead (Bk#1) Kelly Meding, Death’s Mistress (Bk #2) Karen Chance, and The Secret of Everything by Barbara O’Neal.

I must add that I absolutely LOVED the Jayne Ann Krentz reissue, Starfire. In fact I loved it so much I jumped online to see if I the next two books were being reissued. To my horror I found that they weren’t currently available so in my desire to continue the series, I once again forked out an exorbitant amount of money for a used copy of Bk#2 Crystal Flame and was happy to track down and audio copy of Bk #3 Shields Lady.
I am going away on holiday in March and the short list of books that will be in my suitcase are, Flirt and Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton, The Endless Forest by Sara Donati and Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb. The list is sure to get longer and the suitcase heavier before I leave but we all have our vices and this is mine.

“Never Be Without a Book to Read”
Rosemary
Rosemary’s Romance Books
www.rosemarysromancebooks.com

Question: As an avid fan of romance books do you appreciate the work and information that authors put into their websites, and is it frustrating when they aren’t kept up to date?

How To Buy A Novel From A New Romance Author
(funny enough, it’s the same way a literary agent decides to sign a new romance writer client!)
By Kristin Nelson www.nelsonagency.com

Last week I was chatting with my sister by phone. She’s an avid romance reader but for some reason, she always gravitates for her tried and true favorite authors. This is something I always chastise her about! Sure, it’s nice to support your favorites but how are you going to discover a new writer who might quickly become part of your tried and true list if you don’t buy a novel from someone new?
Sound like you? Well, don’t worry, I won’t chastise you but I am going to encourage you to take a chance and buy a new romance author this week.
But how to go about it? After all, the economy is tight. Who wants to waste money on buying a new author only to discover about a third of the way in that this author simply isn’t your cup of tea. Ack. You could have bought a Starbucks Latte instead and trust me, I sympathize with you. I’ve read any number of novels by published romance authors that I couldn’t finish and wished I had saved my money.
Well, the process of discovering a new author and having a pretty good idea of whether you’ll like the rest of the novel is pretty much the same process that I use as an agent when I’m reading our submission pile and looking to sign a new author.
The test is in a strong beginning. If the opening pages capture you, chances are good it’s a novel you won’t end up putting down and regret buying.
And I’m going to share with you the opening pages of some of my debut romance authors who have newly published in the last four years. What’s even better? These are the opening pages from their unpublished manuscripts before the novels were published. That’s almost never shared!
Don’t forget, Borders Buy 4 Get the 5th FREE promo is going on now so that will help you budget & try these new authors!

Let’s start with newish author Sherry Thomas. Her historical romance debut PRIVATE ARRANGMENTS , came to me on submission under the title Schemes of Love. Here is the opening:
London
May, 1893
Only one kind of marriage ever bore the haut ton’s stamp of approval.
Happy marriages were considered vulgar, as matrimonial felicity rarely kept longer than a well-boiled pudding. Unhappy marriages were, of course, even more vulgar, on a par with Frau Von Teese’s special contraption that spanked forty bottoms at once: unspeakable, for half of the ton having experienced it firsthand.
No, the only kind of marriage that held up to life’s vicissitudes was the courteous marriage. And it was widely recognized that Lord and Lady Tremaine had the most courteous marriage of them all.
In the ten years since their wedding, neither of them had ever uttered an unkind word about the other, not to parents, siblings, bosom friends, or strangers. Moreover, as their servants could attest, they never had spats, big or small, never embarrassed each other, never, in fact, disagreed on anything at all.
However, every year, some cheeky debutante fresh from the schoolroom would point out–as if it wasn’t common knowledge–that Lord and Lady Tremaine lived on separate continents, and had not been seen together since the day after their wedding.
Her elders would shake their heads. Foolish young girl. Wait till she heard about her beau’s piece on the side. Or fell out of love with the man she married. Then she’d understand what a wonderful arrangement the Tremaines had: civility, distance, and freedom from the very beginning, unencumbered by tiresome emotions. Indeed, it was the most perfect marriage.
Therefore, when Lady Tremaine filed for divorce on grounds of Lord Tremaine’s adultery and desertion, chins collided with dinner plates all over London’s most pedigreed dining rooms. Ten days later, as news circulated of Lord Tremaine arrival on English soil, for the first time in a decade, the same falling jaws dented many an expensive carpet from the heart of Persia.
The story spread like a well-fed gut. It went something tantalizingly like this. A summon came at the Tremaine townhouse on Park Lane. Goodman, Lady Tremaine’s faithful butler, answered the bell. On the other side of the door stood a stranger, one of the most remarkable-looking gentlemen Goodman had ever come across, tall, handsome, powerfully built, an imposing presence.
“Good afternoon, sir,” Goodman began placidly. A representative of the Marchioness of Tremaine, however impressed, neither gawked nor gushed.
He expected to be offered a calling card and a reason for the call. Instead he was given the gentleman’s headgear. Startled, he let go of his hold on the doorknob and took the satin-trimmed top hat. In that instant, the man walked past him into the vestibule. Without a backward glance or an explanation for this act of intrusion, he began pulling off his gloves.
“Sir,” Goodman huffed. “You do not have permission from the lady of the house to enter.”
The man turned around, and shot Goodman a glance that, to the butler’s shame, made him want to curl up and whimper. “Is this not the Tremaine residence?”
“It is, sir.” The reiteration of “sir” escaped Goodman, though he hadn’t intended for it to happen.
“Then kindly inform me, since when does the master of the house require permission from the lady to enter into his own domain?” The man had removed his gloves. He held them together in his right hand, and slapped them quietly against the palm of his left hand, as if he were toying with a riding crop.
Goodman didn’t understand. His employer was the Queen Elizabeth of her time: one mistress and no master. Then the horror dawned. The man before him was the Marquis of Tremaine, her long-absent, good-as-dead husband and heir to the Duke of Fairford.

I have a feeling that you’ll either love this opening and the play of language or it’s not going to be your cup of tea. Sherry has a very strong voice and a beautiful way with words but as you can tell from this opening, the reader has to work just a bit to get all the subtle, dry wit. As an agent, I had just never read a romance novel that had begun in this type of way. I was immediately intrigued and had to read more.

Courtney Milan’s debut PROOF BY SEDUCTION is another great example of a strong opening . Her voice is much more light-hearted. Readers looking for a romp with more complicated characters than the average romance novel will probably be drawn to this opening. If it doesn’t resonate for you, then you probably don’t need to plunk down the cash (which would be much to my dismay!).

Chapter One
London, 1836.
Gareth had lost himself in his naturalist’s journal. The pages were ivory with age and black with rough ink drawings. But in his mind’s eye, the spindly sketches transformed into verdant jungle foliage lit by the scarlet breasts of a family of jungle macaws.
Somewhere, his senses registered the rustle of paper, the play of light and shadow across the pages, and the draft of a door opening. Engrossed as he was in his work, Gareth had no attention to spare for the frivolous details of reality.
That, of course, had never stopped reality.
“Blakely!”
The shout burst through his concentration, puncturing his bubble of scientific enjoyment. Gareth jumped and dropped his pen. Ink spattered all over the chart he’d painstakingly constructed, and he looked up in irritation.
His study reappeared around him with sudden, savage focus. Account books were stacked chaotically along the edge of his desk, and a collection of leather-bound volumes lined the walls. It took Gareth three pounding heartbeats to orient himself to the abrupt appearance of another person. His cousin, Ned, lanky as only a youth just out of adolescence could be, waved a hand in front of Gareth’s face.
Gareth grimaced at the reminder that he was no longer just Gareth.
He was Gareth Carhart, the Marquess of Blakely. And he had responsibilities.
Mr. Edward Carhart was one of them.
“Ned. Why were you not announced?” Gareth blew out an exasperated breath and prodded the inky mess on his desk. “I’ve been working on this for hours.”
“Your butler did announce me,” Ned said. “Twice.”
Had Gareth been that immersed in his work? The sunlight filtering through the gap in his heavy gold curtains was that of late morning. The rays fell on a tray that his housekeeper had left as a not-so-gentle reminder to eat. Gareth hadn’t paid it any attention, and the soup had long since congealed.
“Handkerchief,” Gareth muttered, patting his pockets. “Where did I put my handkerchief?”
Finding no cloth-shaped lumps, he unknotted his cravat and pulled the linen from his neck. He dabbed at the droplets sprayed across the map. Under his efforts, the neat black blobs of ink strewn across the page transformed into smeared black blobs of ink.
Damn it.
He tossed the ruined cloth on the desk and tried to quell his resentment when he looked up at his cousin. “Well? What the devil are you doing here?”
There was no point offering Ned a seat. He could hardly call the chairs crowded around his desk “available,” cluttered as they were with piles of books and papers. Besides, the youth wouldn’t be staying long. Gareth would make sure of that.
Ned drew a deep breath. “We have plans for today.”
Gareth narrowed his eyes to suspicious slits. “We have plans for today? What are we doing? And why was I not informed?”
Ned pulled at his collar and looked away.
Gareth sighed. Ned was officially Gareth’s heir. But if the boy ever had to take over the duties of the estate, British high society would devour him like the swarming piranhas they were. Oh, he had to give his cousin credit. Ned tried to pull off an air of casual indifference. But indifference had never satisfied the responsibilities of the marquessate. The Marquess of Blakely had to be better than everyone else. And on that point, Ned failed utterly.
“Come now, Ned. Stand up straight and stop studying the carpet. There. That’s better. Now, what have you to say for yourself?”
Ned took a few short, shallow breaths, as if for courage. “I came here—I came here to say something to you.” His next words came out all in a rush. “I’ve decided, as befits our stations in life, we are getting married.”
Gareth raised an eyebrow. “We are?”
A tentative answering nod.
Easy enough to dispose of that line of thinking. “Well, Mr. Carhart. I’m quite flattered, but I don’t think we should suit.”
Ned’s mouth fell open, and Gareth nodded with a twinge of satisfaction. But despite the red flush in his cousin’s cheeks, the young man took a step closer and placed his hands on the desk.
“Not to each other! And stop trying to put me off. To women.” Ned thumped the oak desk for emphasis. “Damn it, Blakely. If I have to marry, then you do, too.”

As an agent, I just laughed aloud at this opening scene. I have a really clear sense of both Gareth and Ned and I’m interested in why they both need to marry and how exactly this is going to unfold. The published novel actually has a different opening. With the above, readers don’t catch a glimpse of our heroine, Jenny. The published novel opens with a scene that immediately follows this one when Ned introduces Gareth to “fortune teller” Jenny for the very first time. She makes a “prediction” that he’ll marry before the year is out the then the game of wits begins. It’s a bit more dynamic yet still has that fun but sardonic tone.

As contemporary romance goes, nothing beats Jana DeLeon and the opening of her very first romance RUMBLE ON THE BAYOU . This opening scene is so just so fabulous. I’m immediately dropped into a small, Southern Louisiana town with a host of interesting characters. Since I’ve lived in big cities my whole life, I find such a setting irresistibly charming.

Chapter One
“This day just keeps getting better.” Deputy Dorie Berenger stared at the alligator in front of her. It had to be the swimming pool.
Why anyone below sea level and not even a mile from the Gulf of Mexico would install an in-ground pool was beyond her. Even the houses in Gator Bait, Louisiana sat on fifteen-foot stilts. An in-ground pool was just asking for trouble.
And trouble was just what they had.
The pool owner, Maylene Thibodeaux, bulged out of a lawn chair next to the structure of cloudy water, jug in hand, wearing a pink bikini and sitting in stoned silence. Which was rare when you considered her usual mouthiness, but understandable since it was almost evening and she had probably been at happy hour since before noon.
Dorie stepped right up to the pool’s edge and studied the alligator more closely. He was a good-sized one, probably ten or twelve feet and currently floating like the dead in the center of the pool with what looked like a backpack hanging out of his mouth. His eyes were half-closed, as if he would drop off into sleep at any moment.
“What do you think?” Deputy Joe Miller asked. Joe had been the first to arrive at Maylene’s, but had immediately called for backup. This one was definitely out of his league.
Dorie blew out a breath. “I think this is not my usual fare. What about Curtis? This is his specialty.”
“I tried. He’s still on a call at the shrimp house. Turned out to be three gators instead of just one.”
“Damn it, Joe, that’s four times this month. Did Buster get those traps repaired?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Then I’m charging him this time. The taxpayers aren’t paying us to keep his shrimp house running, and trappers like Curtis don’t come cheap.”
“I agree,” Joe said, “but what about the problem we have here?”
Dorie sighed and tossed a sideways glance over at Maylene, who was working her jug like a prize-fighter with a water bottle. “How much homemade wine has Maylene had?”
“She was drinking when I got here.”
It figured. Maylene Thibodeaux was hard enough to please sober. Drunk was a whole different story. “You didn’t let her give you any, did you? That stuff’s worse than drugs.”
Joe looked surprised. “No way, boss. I’m still thinking that’s how she bagged Mr. Thibodeaux.”
Dorie smiled. Joe was probably right. Maylene Thibodeaux had been making her own stash since she was a little girl. Rumor had it Mr. Thibodeaux behaved oddly and had a strange tone to his skin on the day of their wedding thirty-five years ago. Folks around town said his skin was the same exact color when they buried him six months ago, making Maylene the most patient hunter in the parish.
After all, it had taken her only minutes to trap her prey, but thirty-five years to kill it.
Maylene’s ears must have been burning because suddenly she came alive and rose from her chair, kind of. Actually, the chair rose a bit with her, and there were a couple of seconds of detachment necessary. Then she glared at Dorie.
“Damn it,” she said. “I did not have this expensive piece of concrete put in to swim with the gators. I could go down to the bayou to do that. And I’m at least a mile from any water whatsoever.” She hiccupped and staggered a little towards the edge of the water. “What the hell is this one doing in my pool?”
“I don’t know,” Dorie replied. “Did you ask him?”
Maylene shook a finger at her. “Don’t you get smart with me, young lady, or I’ll have a talk with your daddy.” She pointed back at the gator. “Now, just what are you going to do about that?”

A test of a good novel is when, even a couple of years later, I can read this opening and I’m dying to read this novel afresh all over again. It just grabs me. If it’s doing the same for you, why not give this author a try?
Obviously as part of this blog entry, I’m giving readers some great suggestions for new romance authors to try. What if you don’t have this luxury? There are a couple of ways to discover these new authors.

1. If you are in the physical store, find the bookseller who enjoys romance. Explain to her the authors you love most and ask for new authors that might have a similar vein. A knowledgeable bookseller can steer you in the right direction.

2. Browse covers and look at the blurbs. Lisa Kleypas calls Sherry Thomas one of the best historical romance authors writing today. Well, if you love Kleypas and she loves Sherry, then you might want to take her recommend. Julia Quinn called PROOF “one of the finest historical romances I’ve read in years.” Well, I think Julia is pretty discerning and doesn’t blurb often. Her opinion might carry some weight.

3. If you hear about a title, scout around to see if you can find a sample chapter online. A lot of authors post the openings on their websites. That way you can get a taste of the writing and the story before you actually buy.

4. There are so many fabulous online review sites for romances. Check them out. Look up some of your favorite titles and see what the reviewer says about them. Then look up some of the romance novels that weren’t your cup of tea. Find the review sites that seem to match your own opinion. Then you know you can probably trust that site to recommend a new writer for you.
And if you are a romance reader who also writes and you want to see if your opening pages are doing the trick, then look into submitting to romance writing contests where you get feedback from the judges.
As an agent, one of my all-time favorite contests is the Toronto Romance Writers Gold Ticket Contest.
http://www.torontoromancewriters.com/contest.html
These ladies don’t pull punches. You’ll get honest feedback from several rounds of judging. I’ve been blown away by the quality of entries in this contest. In fact, just this past fall, our agency did the unprecedented. We asked for full manuscripts from the top 3 entries. We’ve NEVER done that before. And all three entries were so good, it was hard hard hard to pick a winner. In fact, we offered representation to 2 of the 3 winners. That’s a heck of a contest!

So, now your turn — how do you choose to try a new author? Is it the cover, back copy or word of mouth? Comment below - Happy Romance!