trueromance

I like to do my research as hands-on as possible. In college, I worked for a catering company and was often assigned to work with the bakery end of things. I loved it. Home baking is a favorite pastime, but this was on a much bigger scale, and I learned so much.
I have to say my research for SWEET AS SIN and Livvy’s bakery was a spur of the moment thing. Livvy’s character was still forming in my mind. I dropped the kids at school, ran a dozen errands and found myself with time on my hands. And parked in front of a bakery.

Yes, sometimes fate is that easy.

I walked in and just asked if I could have a tour, explaining that I was researching a romance. The manager’s name was Tony and he could not have been more welcoming. He not only let me come back into the kitchen area, he answered all my novice questions and told me to explore at will. Walking around all these huge ovens and free-standing drying racks, where you could literally taste the sugar-scented air on your tongue, plunged me right into Livvy’s mind. I knew everything about her just by being in her world.

Everything crystallized for me as I looked at wedding cakes, brownies and danishes. Livvy was a homebody who gave her love through her work. She was as soft-centered as those cream puffs but forged in an oven of her parents’ bad marriage. I could see her decorating a wedding cake with longing on her face. She wanted the sugar-magic to be real. One tray of biscotti passed by me and I also knew she was tough as nails, with enough backbone to survive.

One worker stood drizzling honey onto huge sheets of dough and I marveled at the delicate creations that came from monster-sized machines. The mixers held POUNDS of flour, not cups. They could be loud as they spit out tiny puffed bites of goodness. Along one wall was a collage of every color imaginable. It was an ugly mess, frankly. Tony explained that the colors were actually edible and came from the spray nozzle used to airbrush cakes. He dared me to lick the wall. I didn’t… but I did use it. It became my splat board and John finds a dragon hiding in the rainbow.

I washed up and they let me help put sprinkles on sugar cookies. That was when I discovered Luster Dust. Think edible, tasteless talcum powder that glistens. Tony used a wide brush and coated one cookie for me. This the stuff that is often used on wedding cakes to make them pearly and pretty. I touched it. It was like silk. And my fingers glowed. I rubbed a little on my inner arm and my skin turn luminescent. I knew I HAD to use this gem somehow. And in the final story, boy howdy does John use that on Livvy!

*Fans face*
I went into Tony’s cramped little office with my cup of coffee and complimentary mini cupcakes, sitting and talking with him about my story and his experiences. He was a bear of a man, with a round belly and a beard. He complained that the beard guard was annoying while baking but his partner liked it so he would never shave. The blush of new love was so strong with him, I was enchanted.

I sat listening to him tell a tale of financing his little bakery and enjoyed my cupcakes heaped with swirled frosting. Those too found their way into my tale, in the form of Two For Plays, mini-confections that help Livvy seduce a not-very reluctant John.
I wrote Sweet as Sin in a word-rush and it sat on my hard drive for almost two years. I was afraid to let it go out into the publishing world. When I got strong enough as a writer, I polished it up and sent it out. I can’t tell you how sweet it was to hear Carina Press wanted to publish it. It was… well… forgive me but… SWEET AS SIN.

EXCERPT:

“Two for play?” One brow arched as he stared at the seemingly innocent mini cupcakes.
An idea sparked. It was so out of character for her, totally irresponsible and spur of the minute, that at first she rejected it. But it clung to her imagination like chocolate ganache—rich, decadent and tempting.
Livvy closed the door behind her. She took the thin clear case from his hands.
“It’s a twist on foreplay. Here, let me show you.”
With a flick of her thumb, she popped the plastic top and the thick scent of buttercream wafted upward. His nostrils flared but his eyes never left her face. “Smells sweet.”
“It is. It’s Italian buttercream frosting, so it stays very…smooth and soft. The sugar is heated so it’s like silk on your tongue as it melts.”
John barely glanced at the pastry. “Buttercream. Silk that melts on your tongue. I like the sound of that.”
“You’ll like the taste, too. The heating means it’s very sturdy but it tastes very delicate.”
He lifted his hand and drew his knuckles down the curve of her cheek. Her breath caught.
“Sounds… sinful.”
Livvy inched closer and tilted her head. “Want a bite?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Devil’s Food or French Vanilla?” The words meant nothing. She was offering him so much more.
“Devil’s Food, of course.” He accepted her offer with a whisper.
His pupils dilated and his tongue skated across his lip. The cake was heaped with a frothy swirl of frosting in snowy white. Slowly, she licked half the frosting off the mini. She held it in her mouth and stepped to him. The sugary cream slipped from her tongue to his.
Drenched in sweetness, his mouth caressed hers. Long after the frosting had melted away, she pulled back and brought the cupcake to her lips. John’s breath deepened as she held half the mini dessert in her mouth. Gripping his neck, she yanked his lips back to hers. A wolfish grin appeared just before he took the dark cake and her kiss in one greedy motion. The shared bite melted with their heat and dissolved with their hunger.
A stray trace of chocolate speckled his lip and Livvy brushed her finger against it. He captured her fingertip, drawing it inside his mouth for a wet caress. A throb began between her legs.
“Your turn.”
John plucked the remaining mini from the box. He licked half the dark fudge frosting away, curled his arm around her waist and drew her mouth to his. The rich chocolate coated her tongue, flavoring the moan that sprang from her chest. Whatever calories were in the frosting were burned away by his kiss. His sharp teeth pierced the pale cake before the other half touched her lips. A sudden burst of spongy vanilla filled her mouth, mingling with creamy fudge and sizzling John Murphy.
“Two For Play, I like it.” His sugary breath warmed her cheek.
“We’re not done yet.”
She lifted the carton. In a third compartment, generous ruffles of chocolate and vanilla circled each other in an erotic blend. His gaze followed as she dipped one finger in the frosting and brought it to her tongue.
“Can I tempt you into a taste of sin, Murphy?”
~~~~~~~~
She’s made for sin. Sin is something he knows intimately.
John Murphy is tormented by nightmares. A bestselling young-adult author, he writes the ultimate fantasy: stories where good always triumphs. He knows better. His past has shown him the worst in people—and in himself. When he moves next door to the sexy, vibrant Livvy—a woman completely unlike his usual one-night stands—he’s driven to explore every curve of her delicious body.
Pastry chef Livvy knows that giving in to the temptation that is John Murphy won’t lead to anything permanent, but she deserves a passionate summer fling. John discovers she’s as sweet as the confections she bakes while Livvy slowly unravels his secrets. But what will happen when she uncovers them all?

Buy SWEET AS SIN at BORDERS
Inez Kelley is a multi-published author of various romance genres. You can visit her at her website http://inezkelley.com/ Follow Inez on twitter at @Inez_Kelley or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inez.kelley

GIVEAWAY!
To win a free download of SWEET AS SIN, tell me your favorite bakery confection! I’m a baklava girl myself although I have been known to do some damage with cheesecake!

Primal Bonds
By Jennifer Ashley

Setting: Austin, TX
Subgenre: Paranormal Romance
Hero: Sean Morrissey (Feline Shifter and the Guardian for his Shiftertown)
Heroine: Andrea Gray (half Fae, half Lupine Shifter)

One sentence summary:
When Feline Shifter Sean Morrissey agrees to mate-claim the half Fae half Shifter Andrea Gray, sight unseen, he gets more than he bargained for.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
The Shifter ladies badgering Sean in his front yard to tell them what kind of underwear he’s wearing. Sean settles the bet in a fun way.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
“I know my place and keep to it.” Yep, she’d die first.

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero?
He’s a biker who can make computers do anything he wants.

Heroine
She likes buying the hero underwear.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
Andrea is a waitress at Sean’s brother’s bar.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Sean is the Guardian of his clan and his Shiftertown—his sword sends the souls of deceased or dying Shifters into the afterlife.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
Sexy biker Shifters in a warm, close-knit family.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
Dylan Morrissey (Sean and Liam’s father).

What’s next:
For Jennifer Ashley:
The next Mackenzie novel: The Many Sins of Lord Cameron (August 2011, Berkley)
The next Shifter novel: Wild Cat (Jan 2012, Berkley)

For Allyson James
The next Stormwalker novel: Shadow Walker (June 2011, Berkley)
Plus a Stormwalker novella: “Double Hexed” in the Hexed anthology (June 2011)

About Me:

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Toss up between Chocolat and Pirates of the Caribbean #1

2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?
Mystery novels

3. What’s the first book you remember reading?
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

4. What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Cinderella

5. What’s your favorite cartoon character?
Bugs Bunny

6. What’s something you’d like to tell your readers?
I love fan mail! Keep sending it!!!

7. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer?
Musician or dollhouse builder

8. What do you do to unwind and relax?
Play guitar, build dollhouses and miniature settings, read, hike, or watch a really good TV show.

9. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?
Tea. Iced. No sugar. Love blends.

10. What does love mean to you?
Caring deeply for someone for who they are, not what they do.

11. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most?
Least: About the 1770s. The panniers and big hair look so uncomfortable.
Most: the 1920s. Easy clothes, short hair, cocktails, and cool cars.

12. Dog person or cat person?
Both. But I have only cats, because my cats are cat people.

Readers: What’s your favorite kind of Shifter? And why?

One winner will receive any book from my backlist under any name (Jennifer Ashley or Allyson James). Backlist titles are here:
http://www.jennifersromances.com/NewSite/seriesorder.html

Breaking the Rules
Suzanne Brockmann
http://www.facebook.com/SuzBrockmannTSWorld

Setting: Las Vegas, Nevada
Subgenre: Military romantic action/adventure suspense
Hero: Navy SEAL Irving “Izzy” Zanella (and in a major subplot: Navy SEAL Dan Gillman)
Heroine: Izzy’s estranged wife (and Dan’s sister) Eden Gillman Zanella (and in that other major subplot: Dan’s girlfriend, Jennilyn LeMay)

One sentence summary: Eden is forced to accept help from mortal frenemies Izzy and Dan, when the youngest Gillman sibling, Ben, needs rescue.

Scene you like most and would never cut: The scene where Eden walks in on Izzy in the bathroom. (Oops.)

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: There’s not much Eden wouldn’t do (or hasn’t done) to help her little brother Ben…

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero? Izzy can play the guitar and has a great singing voice – and knows the words to almost every pop song ever written.

Heroine: Eden is ridiculously thrifty and hates wasting her hard-earned money.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Eden’s still really young. She’d like to find work as a nanny, but her beauty often bites her in the butt – women don’t want to hire her. But because she needs money – fast – to help her little brother Ben, she’s currently got two jobs. One is in a coffee shop at minimum wage, the other is as a stripper in Las Vegas. (Desperate times…)

Jenn, on the other hand, lives and works in NYC, as the chief of staff for a New York State Assemblywoman.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Izzy and Dan are both SEALs with Navy SEAL Team Sixteen. They are also both very, very good at what they do.

What you think readers will like best about this book: Izzy’s been a reader favorite for quite some time. I think readers are going to enjoy watching him as he’s thrown back into contact not just with Eden, but with Danny, too. Izzy and Dan have never gotten along, but in this book they’re forced to rely upon one another.

I also think readers are going to appreciate seeing more of the entire Gillman family – seeing where both Eden and Dan came from. And I hope they’re going to enjoy meeting the youngest member of the family, Dan and Eden’s 15-year-old half-brother Ben.

Last but not least, readers are going to like this book’s length. This is the longest book yet in the entire 16-book Troubleshooters series!

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: I get a lot of email about Navy SEAL Jay Lopez, who is good friends with both Izzy and Dan. (Lopez appears briefly in Breaking the Rules.)

What’s next: June will see the release of my first Troubleshooters e-short story, WHEN TONY MET ADAM, which celebrates the repeal of DADT. I’m also working on a paperback compilation of short stories that feature popular characters from the Troubleshooters world. AND… I’m currently writing the first book in a brand new series with paranormal elements. The focus is on a group of eight people, all of whom appear and have continuing story arcs in all four books. I’m having fun with that!

Let’s talk about recurring characters. The four main characters in Breaking the Rules all first appeared in earlier books in my Troubleshooters series. Danny and Izzy appeared as early as Over the Edge (TS # 3), Eden made her debut in Into the Fire (TS # 13), and Jenn was introduced in Hot Pursuit (TS # 15).

One randomly chosen commenter will win a signed book from Suz! Good luck!

About Me:

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? The Family Stone.
2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in? Anything written by Joss Whedon or Aaron Sorkin.
3. What’s the first book you remember reading? Here Comes the Bus by Beverly Cleary. I was three, and no one believed I was reading it. My sister took it back to school before I finished it, and I was devastated.
4. What’s your favorite fairy tale? Drew Barrymore’s version of Cinderella (Ever After)
5. What’s your favorite cartoon character? SpongeBob SquarePants is in a tie with Mighty Mouse.
9. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it? Coffee – black!
13. Dog person or cat person? Dogs! I have two miniature schnauzers – Dexter (named after C.K. Dexter-Haven from The Philadelphia Story) and Little Joe.

For those of you not familiar with Lori Foster’s work allow me to educate you with a simple math equation. (Just hang in there I’ll be done quick I promise).
(1 part Super hot hero + 1 part complex heroine) X Action + Suspense X SUPER HOT ROMANCE = Best selling Romance novels

For those of you I lost along the way allow me to summarize, Lori Foster is what’s right in Romance. Yep. She is the id. While some of her books have been better received than others, her consistency in writing romance novels, her characters depth, the detail in plot development, the fact that book after book, series after series, its still interesting, this is why she has her own convention. She does not rest on her laurels, she constantly pushes the envelope, exploring new types of romance new series and When You Dare is no different.

Ms. Foster bridged romance and MMA with her SBA fighting series, she took contemporary romance to new heights with her stand alone romance novels, whose books can never be found on shelves because they’re always getting sold. With When You Dare, she has taken romantic suspense to incredible depths, with what I believe is one of the best new romance series debuts in a long while.
Professional mercenary Dare Macintosh lives by one hard and fast rule: business should never be personal. If a cause appeals to him and the price is right, he’ll take the mission he’s offered. But then the lovely Molly Alexander asks him to help her track down the men who’d had her kidnapped—and for the first time, Dare’s tempted to combine work with pleasure.
Fiercely independent, Molly vows to trust no one until she’s uncovered the truth. Could the enemy be her powerful, estranged father? The ex-fiancé who still holds a grudge? Or the not-so-shy fan of her bestselling novels? As the danger heats up around them, the only anchor Molly has is Dare himself. But what she feels for him just might be the most frightening thing of all…
Marketing copy aside When You Dare has an amazing name, it has a killer cover and the blurb is more than enough to make you pick it up. These are the keys to getting your books off shelves. Whats the key to keep readers coming back book after book and year after year, as Ms. Foster has, is what lies inside.

The characters in When You Dare, are so beyond amazing, partially due to their depth, their detailed backgrounds and backstories, that they read true. They read as if they were walking the street next to you, as if you could run into them, well some of them, in your local Starbucks. Molly is a romantic suspense writer. A stretch for Ms. Foster I know, but whatever. She writes it well. She is a romantic suspense author, used to holing up in her apartment and dreaming away to escape her snobbish jackass of a father, her social climbing step mother, and her only friend is her sister, Natalie who we met in a short that Ms. Foster recently published.

Molly, as a character is consistent throughout the novel. Her motivations are clear as is her desires, to be with Dare, to be and feel safe, and her methods are understandable. One of the reasons When You Dare works, is that even in the most extraordinary circumstances, the motivations fears and reactions are realistic and understandable.
Dare is hilarious. Complex, self confident, competent, intensely sexual, he is the guy every woman would want protecting her in case of a major problem or kidnapping in her life. He is the alpha male thats not afraid of showing affection, or being vulnerable to her needs, or vulnerable to Molly. He is super protective, unafraid, he is giving, he’s the perfect hero and that means he has his flaws. To not spoil the book I’ll leave that alone, but needless to say, he is still made of awesome.

One of the best characters is Chris, Dare’s “associate”. I’m going to say that who this character turns out to be is one of the best peripheral characters I’ve ever read. Its hilarious and I could not stop laughing. I truly hope that Lori Foster does something with this character in the future.
This was a fantastic novel, one that was amazingly put together and I loved everything about this book.

Cover Art: A
Plot: A
Characters: A
Writing: A
Overall Rating : A

Alix Taylor is a blogger and avid reader of all things book. You can find her at www.romancebooksforum.com, or on twitter @alixntaylor, where the snark flows free and the romance books are dissected with abandon.

Setting: Scotland, the north central Highlands,1401
Subgenre: Scottish Historical
Hero: Sir Finlagh “Fin” Cameron
Heroine: Lady Catriona Mackintosh

One sentence summary: Sparks fly when famous (or infamous) warrior, “Fin of the Battles” Cameron, who has sworn a sacred vow to seek vengeance against the Mackintosh leaders of the great Highland confederation known as Clan Chattan, meets and falls hard for Lady Catriona Mackintosh, the beautiful “wildcat” daughter of Clan Chattan’s war leader.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: Catriona would never expect someone else to fight her battles (and, with a few exceptions—such as her grandfather, the powerful Captain of Clan Chattan, known simply as the Mackintosh; and her father, who is Clan Chattan’s war leader—she dislikes anyone who expects her simply to submit to his commands without discussion). Her two brothers call her their “wildcat” for good reason, and Fin will learn that she has claws. However, Catriona would never say, “I don’t want to talk about that.” She usually means that she wants what she wants, but Fin’s ability to debate anything without firing up or losing his temper challenges her, and his ability to listen to her (rare among the men of her acquaintance) charms and delights her.

What celebrity is your hero like: I never know how to answer this question, because my opinion of modern celebrities is that most of them seem to be self-obsessed to an unhealthy degree and are therefore utterly un-heroic. Since, despite Fin Cameron’s extraordinary achievements, he thinks of himself (as most true heroes do) as a man who merely tries to do what is asked of him and who sees himself as the antithesis of brave or heroic, no celebrity comes to mind. However, occasionally, I will give a hero a few traits similar to those of one my own favorite characters in movies or books. A man like Lee Childs’s Jack Reacher, for example, might make a great fourteenth-century hero. Some of John Wayne’s characters also occasionally come to mind, or the Bruce Willis character in the Die Hard movies. But even those moments are rare for me.

What celebrity is your heroine like: The same thing goes for my heroines, although each one doubtless bears some resemblance at one point or another in the story to characters played by Katharine Hepburn, Sandra Bullock, and others who frequently play intelligent women with minds of their own. Lady Catriona Mackintosh certainly thinks for herself and resists domination in a land and time of domineering men. Her brothers’ nickname for her is Wildcat. The truth, though, is that if Cat bears a resemblance to anyone, it might be to the author herself. Certainly, Cat’s love of solitary rambles through Highland forests with only her wolf dog (ancestor of the Scottish deerhound) for companionship mirror my own mountain walks with my son’s beautiful, highly intelligent golden retriever, Bella. Likewise do I know from my own experience that such a dog can provide excellent protection for a woman who enjoys solitude.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Lady Catriona Mackintosh is slender but sensuously voluptuous, proud of her heritage, intuitive, observant, even a little fey. Some believe that she possesses the gift of Second Sight. She loves animals, is a capable archer, and carries her own dirk. She is often demanding, always willing to share her opinions, wistfully romantic, occasionally vain, and a fiercely loyal friend. When angered, she has a quick, fiery temper that burns out just as quickly. Otherwise, she is friendly, outgoing, and generous but enjoys solitude (and getting her own way). When Catriona and her wolf dog, Boreas (God of the north wind) come upon an unconscious young warrior in the forest one day, Cat doesn’t hesitate to do all she can for him. When she realizes that he still has miles to go to reach his destination, she insists that he return with her to Rothiemurchus, her castle home in the middle of a Highland loch, to recuperate from his injury, little knowing that he is a member of the enemy Cameron Clan and has sworn to kill her father.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Sir Finlagh Cameron of Tor Castle in Lochaber is a knight, an expert swordsman, and a skilled archer. He is also seductive, argumentative but diplomatic, and cool under pressure. Fin has a strong sense of fairness, can always—sometimes maddeningly—see both sides of an issue, and he will fight for what he believes. An experienced leader, he makes decisions on the fly and is dedicated to his clan. He is the finest swordsman in Scotland and the sole Cameron survivor of the great Clan Battle of Perth, won by Clan Chattan. On that battlefield, Fin’s dying father “bequeathed” to him the sacred duty of seeking vengeance against the Mackintosh leaders of Clan Chattan if not against their entire confederation. Fin was just twenty-two then, and in the bloody aftermath of the battle, distraught and grieving, he promised that he would accept that bequest. Now, nearly five years later, Fin is serving Scotland’s crown prince, Davy Stewart, who has ordered him to seek the Mackintosh’s aid in arranging a meeting with the Lord of the North and the Lord of the Isles. On his way, Fin falls victim to an arrow and meets Catriona and Boreas. Only as they approach her home does he realize who her father is. One might say that his dilemma smacks him in the face then, because accepting Highland hospitality puts as much burden on the guest as on his host to remain civil, which is to say, to resist murdering him.

Scene you like most and would never cut: I love the scene where a tiny kitten adopts the huge wolf dog Boreas as its hero, but my favorite scene between Fin and Catriona comes just before the climax of the book, when Fin realizes that it is up to him to save everyone and orders Catriona back into the safety of Rothiemurchus Castle (her island home, now boatless). Catriona has learned that defying him doesn’t pay, but neither is she willing simply to bid him good luck. It is her home, after all, and Fin will need her help. So, despite her worries—not least of which is the pouring rain—and specifically her concern for Fin’s safety…nay, her terror that he means to sacrifice himself to save her family, she waves cheerfully goodbye to him, and then…

What you think readers will like best about this book: I hope that readers will love the two main characters of this book. He is a warrior, accustomed to command and to being obeyed. She is a young woman accustomed to dealing with domineering warriors and to making her own decisions. She has two older brothers, one of whom is the greatest swordsman in Scotland, and their father is the war leader for the entire Clan Chattan confederation. Oh, yes, and their maternal grandfather is the Mackintosh himself, Captain of Clan Chattan. Fin will teach her how to control her temper even as he learns that she can usually take care of herself, and she will show him how to resolve his greatest dilemma as they battle enemies of both clans. Also, I’m sure that many readers will fall in love with Boreas and his tiniest, most adoring fan.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: Jake Maxwell, who will be the hero of the third book in the Scottish Knights trilogy, is just such a character. Many of the fan letters that I received for KING OF STORMS (Forever, August 2007) contained a hope that the enterprising and outspoken young Jake would someday reappear. He was eight in KING OF STORMS, and his father was the captain of the Serpent Royal, a fine new ship that belonged to the Duke of Albany. The motherless Jake sailed with his father then, and the events in KING OF STORMS changed his life forever.

What’s next: HIGHLAND MASTER is the first book in my new ‘Scottish Knights’ trilogy. Next comes HIGHLAND HERO (Oct 2011) and then HIGHLAND LOVER. The heroes of these three books became friends at St. Andrews while they studied with Bishop Walter Traill, who was also briefly guardian and mentor to young Jamie Stewart (later James I of Scotland). Traill’s successor, Bishop Wardlaw, continued Traill’s ‘school,’ which under Wardlaw’s guidance developed into St. Andrews University. HIGHLAND HERO is the story of how Catriona’s brother Sir Ivor Mackintosh (Scotland’s greatest archer) and Queen Annabella’s rebellious niece, Lady Marsaili Drummond, team up to get young Jamie safely to St. Andrews before he falls into the clutches of his wicked uncle, the Duke of Albany. The third book, HIGHLAND LOVER, will tell the story of Sir Jacob Maxwell, whom many readers will remember from KING OF STORMS (see above). Jake is now grown up and a renowned ship’s captain and warrior. Since he enjoyed a unique relationship with the Duke of Albany, which gives him a different perspective on my favorite villain, I thought Jake would be the perfect hero to involve in the King of Scots’s ill-fated attempt to send Jamie, his youngest son and now heir to the throne, to France when Scotland becomes too dangerous under Albany for Jamie to stay there. Jake’s heroine in HIGHLAND LOVER is Lady Alyson MacGillivray, a cousin of Catriona’s and Ivor’s who chances to be sailing on the same ship as the young prince.

In HIGHLAND MASTER, Fin faces a dilemma because in the heat of a horrific battle and its aftermath, he inadvertently swore two mutually exclusive but nonetheless sacred oaths. We all do or say things under great stress that we would not ordinarily do or say. Can you think of other such situations that might challenge a person of integrity who tries to resolve them equably, either in a book or in real life? For that matter, do you think that such dilemmas can be resolved satisfactorily?

Of those who participate, three will be selected at random to receive a galley for the next book in the Scottish Knights series, HIGHLAND HERO.

Setting: Virginia
Subgenre: Contemporary Romance
Hero: Owen Gage
Heroine: Jordan Radcliffe

One sentence summary:
After divorcing her cheating husband, a shattered Jordan Radcliffe is sure she has no interest in the opposite sex, but that’s before she meets her new neighbor, Owen Gage, a man who restores beautiful old homes and who quite possibly heals broken hearts.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
Honestly, there are a number of scenes in this book that I really love, but as I have to pick just one, I’d say it’s when Jordan chucks her iced tea into Owen’s face. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but Jordan believes that Owen has been underhanded and has not only stolen her design ideas but potential clients as well (she’s just started an interior design company). For too long, Jordan has been meek and mild and polite, all that is gracious. But for some inexplicable reason this handsome and ridiculously charming man causes her usually perfectly controlled demeanor to crack.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
That’s what I find fun about Jordan’s story: there’s a whole list of things she finds herself saying that she never would have dreamed of saying before Owen came into her life. Falling in love with him liberates her in all sorts of unexpected ways.

What celebrity is your hero like:
Clive Owen. Jordan’s young half-sister, Jade, has a great time teasing her about how much Owen resembles the movie star because she knows Jordan has a major crush on him.

What celebrity is your heroine like:
Julianne Moore. In some of her movie roles she’s portrayed characters who posses at once an aching vulnerability and resilience. Jordan, determined to make a new life for herself and her three children, is very much like that.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
Jordan’s an interior decorator, but she also works with the horses on her family’s horse breeding farm, Rosewood. Plus, she’s a single parent of three small children. So Jordan has the kind of busy life so many women have these days.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Owen’s an architect who specializes in historic renovations. One of the reasons he tells himself he wants to get to know Jordan better is the fact that she lives in an extraordinarily well-preserved Greek Revival home that’s been in her family since it was built for her ancestor, Francis Radcliffe, in the 1870’s.

What do you think readers will like best about this book:
Believe in Me is the second book in my Rosewood Trilogy (it follows Remember Me) and I hope that readers will enjoy getting to see how Jordan overcomes the hurt and betrayal she suffered in her first marriage and cheer her on as she finds the courage to entrust her heart to another man. Being able to believe in another person and find the faith to love again in the aftermath of a spouse’s infidelity is something that I find incredibly moving, and I hope readers will root for Jordan as much as I did.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
I’ve had a lot of readers tell me that they want to find out what happens between two characters, Lizzie Osborne and Sam Brody, from one of my earlier novels, Chance Meeting. The funny thing is that I never intended for them to be a couple, but when I wrote a scene where they met after not seeing each other for years, the sparks that flew between them rivaled the Fourth of July. That’s what I love about being a novelist—when characters surprise me by taking on lives of their own. So I’ll definitely be writing about Sam and Lizzie someday soon as they deserve to have a story of their own.

What’s next:
Jade Radcliffe’s story! Trouble Me, the last installment of the Rosewood trilogy, will be my next release. Jade is the youngest of the three Radcliffe sisters and has had her share of troubles as a teenager. Now a college grad, she’s come home to Rosewood to take her place alongside her sisters training horses at Rosewood Farm and teaching at the local elementary school. Determined to shake the reputation she earned as a wild teen, Jade plans to be a model citizen, a real paragon. The only hitch in her plan is that on her way home, a terrible lightning storm forces her to spend the night in a hotel near Norfolk, Virginia. And when she meets a handsome stranger in a bar she learns that the summer lightning storm raging outside is nothing compared to the electricity that sizzles when they touch. Though Jade thinks she’s just indulging in a final one night stand before assuming an ultra respectable persona, it turns out that her handsome stranger is not such a stranger after all…

I’m trying really hard to stick to the resolutions I made this New Year’s (watching my sugar intake—a real problem when I’m sitting in front of a computer trying to get the scenes I have in my head onto the blank white of the screen; watching my money—because who doesn’t need to these days, and trying to limit the amount of time I waste surfing the net). What are some of your resolutions and how are you doing in terms of keeping them?

2 Free copies given to 2 randomly chosen commenters - good luck!

Setting: 1825 England
Subgenre: Regency Historical
Hero: Giles Masters, barrister extraordinaire and sometime covert operative for the English government
Heroine: Lady Minerva Sharpe, author of popular gothic novels, and one of the Hellions of Halstead Hall

One sentence summary: Author Lady Minerva thinks to outwit her grandmother by betrothing herself to the rogue who she patterned her most popular villainous spy on, little knowing that he really is a spy and he means to make the betrothal real!

Scene you like most and would never cut: The one in which Giles comes to be interviewed for the position of Minerva’s husband and gives witty responses to all her questions. She gives as good as she gets, though, and they really spark off each other there.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: Giving up her writing.

Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy: Definitely briefs. He’s a lawyer. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the pun.)

Ancillary character you had the most fun with: It’s always Freddy Dunse. He’s so clueless, yet so good-hearted. And food is his life. He really knows how to enjoy a good pie.

Your heroine’s favorite hobby: Reading gothic novels, of course. And she likes dressing up for masquerades, too.

Your hero’s favorite hobby: Probably gambling, although that’s starting to wear thin.

What you think readers will like best about this book: The interaction between the hero and heroine. Minerva is so out there (and I don’t know why—she just sprang onto the page like that), and Giles is so great at reining her in that it’s fun to watch. But that’s just my opinion, and the author is always the last to know about what’s best in their books.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: Jackson Pinter, the Bow Street Runner from the last series and this. Don’t worry, he’ll have his book.

What’s next: I’m writing Gabriel Sharpe’s book right now. I can’t discuss it much, however, because readers only find out in Minerva’s book why he’s called The Angel of Death and what his deal is. But I think it will appeal to those who love the tortured hero.

This is the first time I’ve put an author as a character in one of my books, and it’s been quite enlightening. It made me identify with her in unexpected ways. Once I started talking about her, though, readers told me that they liked authors as characters. Is that true for you? Is it a type that appeals to you, or are you just as happy with other professions? What’s your favorite profession/pastime for historical heroines?

We have an autographed set of the first three books in my Hellions of Halstead Hall series—The Truth About Lord Stoneville, A Hellion in Her Bed and Minerva’s book, How to Woo a Reluctant Lady—for one lucky reader!

Happy Sunday!

Hope you had a marvelous weekend & got lots of reading done?
Congrats to all our winners - please email me, SueG, sgrimsha@bordersgroupinc.com, include your mailing address so we can send you your book!

Sunday - Sue’s Stash - US only -AngieG

Sunday Author winner w/Tina Martin:
And now for the giveaway: Two commenters (chosen at random) will win autographed copies of my new novel, ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE. Two people (chosen at random), who order SECRETS ON LAKE DRIVE now through January 31st will win $25 Borders gift cards. All you have to do is send your proof of purchase to my email: tina@tinamartinbooks.com. Contest ends January 31st.

Her book winners are: Danielle G; Diane

Monday Julia - LSU Reader

Tuesday with Vicki - Terri; Estella; SharynL

Wednesday Sophie’s winner - LauraC; JessicaC

Thursday & Carolyn’s winner - Cricket; Mindy Holt; TracyD

Friday w/Sue Ellen - SuzyR; LauraH; JohannaJ

Saturday w/Christie - PamK

Congrats all!

Wanna know who’s on this week?

Sunday, 2/16 thru Tuesday 2/18, countdown with SEP, aka, Susan Elizabeth Phillips for her New hardcover release - CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE!

Wednesday with Monica Burns

Thursday & Sabrina Jeffries

Friday Laura Moore!

Sat & the awesome, Karen Marie Moning & her New Release, Shadowfever

See you there!
Happy Romance,
SueG

SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS

FANCY PANTS
DECEMBER 2010

Setting: All over the place!
Subgenre: Contemporary Romance
Hero: Dallas Beaudine
Heroine: Francesca Serritella Day

When pro athlete Dallas Beaudine meets Francesca Day, the spoiled British beauty is broke, furious, and limping down a backwoods road in a Southern belle’s gown. It only gets worse…

FANCY PANTS is the book that changed everything for me. When I began writing it, (way, way back), nobody told me romance authors weren’t allowed to write about sports. My Dallie Beaudine was the first athlete hero in contemporary romance, and to make things worse¾remember I was new to the game and, let’s be honest, more than a little clueless¾I didn’t start out writing about the football heroes I later became known for. Oh, no. That would have made too much sense. Instead I picked golf.
That’s right. I chose to write about the single most boring game in the universe. (Sorry, golfers, but you know it’s true.)
I did, however, have the sense to realize I’d set a trap for myself, and I needed to let readers understand from Dallie’s first appearance that he wasn’t one of those uptight, Izod-wearing, country club boys. So…
Dallas Fremont Beaudine once told a reporter from Sports Illustrated that the difference between pro golfers and other big-time athletes was mainly that golfers didn’t spit. Not unless they were from Texas, anyway, in which case they pretty much did any damn-fool thing they pleased….
As for Francesca, my spoiled British beauty… I love books where the heroine’s internal journey is as interesting and complicated as her external one, and believe me, Francesca has a long way to travel.
This is a book that holds a special place in my heart. Not only did it earn me my small place in romance novel history, but it’s also the book where I found my comic voice as an author. And with my newest novel, CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE (January 18, 2011), I’ve come full circle. Its hero is Ted Beaudine, the “irresistible” son of Dallie and Francesca.

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts about whom you consider the romance genre’s most unforgettable heroes and heroines. What couples spring to mind?

3 Random commenter’s will win a copy of SEP’s, FANCY PANTS! Good Luck!

Setting: Alternate contemporary version of New York
Subgenre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Hero: Raven Matokwe
Heroine: Kathryn “Kitt” Jordan

One sentence summary:
A shape-shifting Romeo and Juliet meets Silence of the Lambs.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
The first scene of the book. It’s deliciously dark and in the POV of the serial killing antagonist. I just loved getting into the killer’s head. I adore horror. Stephen King is one of my idols along with Clive Barker who writes some really scary stuff. I would love to be able to write a book that scares the pants off people.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
Kitt would never jump into a fight just for the fun of it (unlike Antoinette, the heroine from the first book, who also has a rather big part in this book too). Don’t get me wrong – Kitt will fight if she has too. She’ll fight to protect or save someone and she’ll fight for her family.

What celebrity is your hero like:
Alex O’Loughlin would make the perfect Raven – especially his character in Hawaii Five-O with a dash of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in the Origins movie.

What celebrity is your heroine like:
The closest I could come up with for Kitt is a blonde Jessica Alba. When asked this question – I really get stumped, because my characters are so fully formed in my head that it’s hard to try find someone who fits the bill.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
Kitt Jordan has just resigned as the chief parahuman medical examiner to take up a teaching position as a lecturer in Parahuman Forensic Pathology at the New York campus of the Academy of Parahuman Studies. She comes from a long line of healers and yet somehow she ended up dealing with the dead, which seems to be a bit of a habit. On her first day in her new teaching role, her surrogate big brother, Oberon, drags her into a murder investigation very similar to her husband’s death years earlier.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Raven was a covert assassin/agent in the black ops team known as the Draconis Nocti, which was disbanded some years earlier. He returned home, but no longer fit in with Pack life. Then he met Kitt. Since the murder of Kitt’s husband, for which he was blamed, he has been on the run and serving as the protector of their twin daughters. He is now working covertly for Oberon DuPrie and his investigation team (known only as The Team because they are too cool for labels). He loves our heroine and wants her back and he will do anything to get her – even if it means letting her go.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
I’m hoping it’s the world in which the Dark Brethren novels are set. To me one of the most important “characters” of my series is this alternate version of earth. My paranormal creatures live openly in a tenuous relationship (and some like the Aeternus are symbiotic) with humans, yet they have their own societal structures as well. I’ve been working in this world for some time now, but I have barely scratched the surface of the complex cultures and governance. There are still some cultures yet to write about, such as the mer-people and my one exception to the hidden race rule, which I will finally get to write about in book 3 of the series.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
I get requests for two characters from my first book. The first is Oberon – the ursian (or were-bear as some people refer to him, although to me they are more shape-shifters than were-creatures). The other character that I get most emails about is Viktor – and those who have read NIGHT’S COLD KISS will know what I mean.

What’s next:
I am working on book 3 of the Dark Brethren series. This one will follow the white witch Bianca Sin and a new hero. This one is currently slated for 2012.

There seems to be a constant debate on whether my books are Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance – I’m even finding myself confused these days. I think there is a spectrum with Urban Fantasy at one end and Paranormal Romance at the other. I also think my books are more in the middle of the spectrum, a kind of melding of the two, maybe something like Urban Fantasy Romance. What do you as readers like to see in these genres and what do you think makes a story one or the another?

Random commenter will win give away - a signed copy of Death’s Sweet Embrace along with a signed copy of Night’s Cold Kiss as a prize.