New Beginnings

New years always bring new beginnings. Of course they do, you say. It's new! And it's both exciting and just a little bit scary at the same time too. So, what new beginnings am I looking at so far this year.

1. The launch of the Diamonds Down Under continuity with Silhouette Desire. The first book in the continuity, VOWS & A VENGEFUL GROOM, by Bronwyn Jameson, is out now and sets the scene for our awesome series. For more information about the series, the books and the authors involved visit our website and bookmark our blog so you can be in to win some amazing prizes including diamonds, editor and agent critiques and more!

2. My new release in February, very appropriately titled, TYCOON'S VALENTINE VENDETTA! We had a wee hiccup with the back cover and inside copy where a name change for the hero didn't quite make it to production but hey, it doesn't affect the story, right? And ooh-la-la! Don't you just love this cover! I know I do and it's perfect for the characters and the story. And, in even more fun, if you visit Harlequin's Valentine's Day website you'll get to see the cover in a spot the differences game.

3. New authors for me to read. I'm sitting here typing this and looking at my TBR pile and smiling happily at the thought of tucking into these wonderful books. It's always fun to read new authors along with my old favourites. Since I'm between contracts right now I have plenty of time to read and I'm making the most of it!

So, as we head into a new year with new challenges and special moments to look forward to what is it that you're looking forward to the most right now?

Yvonne Lindsay is currently sweltering in the New Zealand summer heat and thinks lying around and reading a book is the perfect way not to raise a sweat! For more information about Yvonne, visit her website http://www.yvonnelindsay.com/ or check out her blog http://yvonnelindsay.wordpress.com/

50 BOOKS!

50 BOOKS...


when my first book, AN IMAGE OF YOU, was published in December 1992, it seemed hardly credible that fifteen years later, I'd be holding my 50th book. Where did all those words come from? The stories? It's the one thing writers are always asked -- where do you get your ideas from? Truthfully, really, I don't know. Except that today, standing on a ladder, trying to fit a fiddly piece of wallpaper into an awkward corner, I had a glimpse of an idea. And that's how it happens. A little spark of something.

There was a house glimpsed in woods in Gloucestershire. A busker in a shoe shop. A television documentary about a calendar shoot. Or a title that leaps out of nowhere -- The Sheikh & the Shopgirl.

Nothing at all. Just a glimmer in the corner of the mind that gradually grows until it is an idea, then a character emerges, then an incident and suddenly you have the beginning of a story.

Not sitting in a brown study waiting for the muse to strike, then, but decorating the hall...

My Sheikh & the Shopgirl, became The Sheikh & the Chauffeur (because you need to keep your characters together and it seemed to work better) and finally -- because "chauffeur" still apparently suggests "male", THE SHEIKH'S UNSUITABLE BRIDE. Book # 50.

This is Sheikh Zahir al Khatib. Tycoon and sometime playboy, he's coming to London to tie-up the biggest deal in his life, having finally given his mother the go-ahead to line up a suitable bride -- his father is desperate for a grandson.

One encounter with his lively new chauffeur sends all his good intentions out of the window.

This is Diana Metcalfe. She's a single mother, working hard to provide for her little boy.

She drives a minibus for a car hire company. Gets the less thrilling jobs. Driving groups to the airport, the school run, hen parties. The kind of job where a bit of "lip" is useful.

Her ambition is have her own London taxi. A pink one. Meanwhile, a chance to show what she can do behind the wheel of the company's most luxurious car will do very nicely. Just as long as she keeps the "lip" buttoned and remembers that chauffeurs are meant to be unnoticeable.

Romantic Times gave the book 4 1/2 stars and say it has "...oodles of sizzle...Pure magic from beginning to end."

The "desert prince" is as an enduringly popular theme as Cinderella, or Beauty and the Beast. So, tell me, are you shaken? Stirred? Or just bewildered by the appeal?

Christmas Presents with Anna Campbell

Sometimes a Harlequin Presents is all that will fit the bill when it comes to what I want to read!

I was hoping for a reading binge over the Christmas break. Didn't quite happen, sadly. Real life got in the way. But I did manage a few days ago to snatch a day and a half where I read nothing but Harlequin Presents! Ah, what bliss! Those crazy titles! Those high stakes plots! All that operatic emotion! Just what I felt like.

I started with an author whose work I hadn't read before. Sarah Morgan's The Brazilian Boss's Innocent Mistress (see what I mean about those crazy titles? Sheesh!). Really great story about a woman unjustly accused of embezzlement and the growling alpha male who decides to make her pay for her 'crimes'. Grooviest element? Probably the hero's glass mansion in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest. Seriously cool! Almost James Bondish. Will definitely read Sarah Morgan again. This was great.

Then a great Lynne Graham. I've long been a fan of this writer - her Prisoner of Passion is one of my all-time favorites. This one was called The Petrakos Bride. It had all those elements I look for in a Lynne Graham - an overbearing hero who finds himself flummoxed when he falls in love, a match of opposites who somehow find common ground, great sexual tension. A lovely Cinderella story just right for a post-Christmas romance binge.

Then a feast of two wonderful Jane Porters. I love Jane's work - she manages to pack more emotion into a 50,000 word book than most writers manage over a 10-volume series. These two were no exception. There was The Latin Lover's Secret Child and Hollywood Husband, Contract Wife. Both cut right to the heart and were beautifully written with such passion (and I don't just mean the passion in the bedroom, although there's certainly plenty of that!).

My binge ended with a debut book by Jennie Lucas called The Greek Billionaire's Baby Revenge. Another classic presents although with some unusual elements that added a piquant edge to my feast. Russian gangsters and Las Vegas entrepreneurs, how fantastic! And again lots of passion.

So thank you, Presents authors. You gave me just what I wanted in spades.

Do you ever find yourself in need of a fix of Harlequin Presents? Are there any authors you turn to at such times? What appeals to you about Harlequin Presents?

My New Favorite Book by Megan Crane

I had great plans for this blog. I thought I might discuss my New Year's Resolutions (get in shape, eat more vegetables, all very routine), my inability to cope with the forty degree weather here in southern California (because forty degrees here is like the frigid tundra), or, if uninspired by any of the above, throw up some more Gerard Butler pictures-- always a crowd pleaser.

But instead, I have to tell you about the book I just read.

The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne.

I believe I read about it on Dear Author, was intrigued, and bought it.

I wasn't expecting to be sucked so completely into another world that even now, two days after I've finished it, I am still mooning about the house feeling out of sorts because the story is over.

I'm not going to tell you about the intricate and fascinating story, or the marvelous characters, or the amazing use of language, because that's all been covered in other places.

I will tell you that this book did what we always dream a book is going to do when we read that first page. It seduced me. It took me over. I stayed up late and felt bereft when I read the last page. I want more. I want to disappear through the pages and be a part of the sparkling, mesmerizing world that Joanna Bourne created. I want to do something about the fact that there are now these people in my head, and my heart, who I care about so deeply I have talked about very little else for the past few days. I feel as if this story is now a part of me, and I can't think of higher praise than that.

It's such a good book, is what I'm saying, that I think you should all rush right out and buy it right now, so you can experience this same post-book bittersweet high.

Thank goodness there's another book from this author to pre-order!

Difficult-to-Like Heroines - Susanna Carr

One of the presents I received during the holidays was the DVD set of Bones. I love this series that shows an FBI agent and a forensic anthropologist solving mysteries.

My family is teasing me about my love for this series. I thought it was because I usually can't handle blood and gore, yet I'm watching a show that deals with human remains and skeletons. But no, they can't understand why I'm beginning to enjoy TV series that showcase difficult, hard-to-like female leads.

And I realize that a pattern is developing in the shows I watch. Bones is about Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who relates better with dead people than live ones. I'm also renting DVDs of The Closer, which has Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, a woman who doesn't know how to play office politics and can't help stepping on toes. And then there is Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison in the Prime Suspect series. She's an ambitious police officer who takes on cases that could jeopardize or make her career, yet she has a tendency to make the stupidest mistakes in her personal life.

All of these women are at the top of their fields, oftentimes specialists in a male-dominated world. They don't play well with others, can often be abrasive and rude, and can make everyone miserable as they fight their personal demons. But I have to admire these women because they are passionate about their mission in life. Temperance Brennan's main goal is to discover the truth. Jane Tennison is a crusader determined to find justice. Brenda Johnson is tenacious in closing a criminal case and will do whatever it takes to get a confession.

These women make great sacrifices in their personal life and they've seen the dark side of humanity. They break the rules but follow their own code of honor. They are strong, brave, smart and alpha. They take care of and protect the people who work for them.

As much as I enjoy watching these shows and learning about the characters, I don't want to be exactly like these women. I definitely wouldn't want to work for them!! I think being a friend or a sister to one of these characters would be frustrating at times, but I would want someone like Temperance, Brenda or Jane to be on my side and help fight my battle.

Do you watch or read a series that has a difficult-to-like heroine? Or do you have to like the heroine to enjoy the story?

Susanna

http://www.susannacarr.com/

How I'm Addicted to the Internet

Really, I didn't think I had an addiction. I thought I was fine, that I could handle my e-mailing and surfing. But then a big storm hit on Friday. And my Internet access went down. I've been without it for 48 hours. Oh my God. I was freaky. What's going on? I can't look at the traffic reports, or the weather reports. I can't talk to my friends or read my loops or check out my favorite blogs! All the while, I was chewing on the inside of my cheek wondering about the e-mails I was missing. What utterly important thing did I NEED to know that I didn't know because I had no e-mail!!!???

So I now realize that I am addicted to my Internet, my e-mail and my cellphone. When did this happen? 10 years ago we didn't even have Internet at home, I only used it at work. And I only got my family cellphone plan about 3 years ago. How have these instruments become so important in so short a time? Gosh, I can't even go to the grocery store now without calling up my husband on the cellphone and asking him to check the fridge to see if we need milk.

Honestly, what did we do before Internet and Cellphones? It was truly the dark ages. Are there any other addicts out there? Please don't tell me I'm the only one.

Jasmine Haynes, The Fortune Hunter
Don't miss my January contest
http://www.skullybuzz.com

January, by Bronwyn Jameson

January has always been one of my favourite months, from way back in my childhood. It's a given, really, when our Australian school year ended in December and resumed in early February. I grew up on a farm and harvest, the busiest time of year by far, also finished in December. January stretched before us, a whole month with no school and no chores. Hooray!!!

If we went on family vacation, then January was the month. Some years we went to our cousins' in the city but I loved our beach holidays the best. Often we stayed with relatives in Avalon, a suburb on Sydney's northern beaches, and it was quiet and safe and we walked to the beach or down to the corner store. I loved the beach, the water, building elaborate sandcastles and collecting shells. Simple things like wearing rubber thongs (flip-flops) or going bare-footed which were absolute no-no's on the farm.

When our sons were younger we followed the tradition, taking them on beach holidays where I could revisit my childhood love of sand construction under the guise of "playing with the kids." I also got to borrow their boogie boards. Hated when they whined "but it's mine, Mum, give it back!" My husband isn't a big fan of the beach (I love him despite this blemish), so we mixed it up with holidays in the cooler high country and driving trips to Tasmania and along the Great Ocean Road.

I'm sure my memories of those happy summer holidays still colour my impression of January as the number one month. Now we tend to travel at different times of the year but January is still a relaxed time. It's also like a rebirth, the start of a new year, where you can put disappointments and droughts behind and say, "THIS year will be better." In January anything is possible in the twelve months ahead.

On December 31 I took time to clean up my office and to think about my writing year ahead. I have 3 books to write. I've booked my flights for the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco in July. Before then I have a writers' retreat to look forward to as well as two books coming out, both of which have special significance to me.

The first should be making its appearance in North American bookstores right about now. VOWS & A VENGEFUL GROOM is my 13th published book and my biggest challenge to date. As part of a continuity series -- DIAMONDS DOWN UNDER -- conceived and developed by the six authors involved, it took at least twice as long to write as any previous book. That's because of the work involved in putting together the whole series arc, the continuity threads, the backstory, research, and cross-checking everything with the other authors to make sure we were all on the same page.

Now the first book is out, the website has launched, our blog is running and I think I'm as thrilled and proud as when my first book came out. I guess there's nothing left to do but kick off my shoes and walk barefoot through the summer excitement.

What does January represent to you? Do you have a favourite month, and is that coloured by your childhood memories?

VOWS & A VENGEFUL GROOM is set in Sydney in January, although there is little relaxing for Kimberley Blackstone and Ric Perrini as they battle to overcome old misunderstandings and mistrust -- and to secure the future of Blackstone Diamonds -- in the wake of a shocking accident. Visit the Diamonds Down Under website for the goss on the series, to read excerpts, and for a chance to win some awesome prizes. Diamonds, anyone?

Resolutions - Eileen Wilks

Morning has yawned its way into my life once more. My muffin is crumbs, and I'm working on my first cup of coffee. I’ve fed the Queen of the Universe her tuna; fed and petted the stray cat I started feeding a month ago; and given my geriatric Labrador her meds and her breakfast. The sky is waking slowly, like me, slipping into its day colors one ray at a time.

It’s January, and I’m sitting in my clean and tidy office. This, for those who’ve never visited my office, is a rare and newsworthy event. Most of the time it looks like an oversize version of your junk drawer. You know the one I mean, where rubber bands tango with extension cords, battle with batteries, and wind themselves around ancient whatchamacallits whose purpose is lost in the fogs of time, yet they look so obscurely useful you can’t bear to throw them out.

I am resolved to keep my office tidy this year.

Many people say they’ve given up on the whole business of New Year’s resolutions. Why bother? They know they’ll just break them. The author of a wonderful little book called THIS YEAR I WILL agrees . . . mostly. A resolution, by itself, does not bring change. And yet, as surely as bears are drawn into their dens to hibernate when the weather turns cold, I’m drawn to change when the old year clicks over to the new. And so I spent December 31 cleaning out my office, and for the past three days I’ve been writing to-do lists and checking things off.
Will this be the year I actually stay organized? Do things on time? Am able to find whatever piece of my personal paper trail I need at a given time? Who knows? Two things I’ve learned: first, I won’t change if I don’t give change my attention. It’s too easy, too comforting, to go through my days on autopilot. Second, I have to be willing to fail. In fact, I’m certain I’ll fail many times—forgetting to check my to-do list, or to even write it out. Forgetting appointments. Losing the one bit of paper I need to finish my taxes.

And that’s okay. I am aces at failure. Almost as good as Michael Jordan, who missed over 9000 shots and lost 300 games. Or Thomas Edison, who famously said, "I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work."

The key to success, as the Chinese say, is to fall down seven times. Get up eight.

I wrote for years, finishing five books, before I sold. I teeter on the abyss of failure with every book—shoot, with every page. And every book fails in some way. (So far they’ve all failed to hit the New York Times list, for example—darn it!) There’s no doubt in my mind that my newest book, NIGHT SEASON, will fail to please some readers. Too much romance, maybe, for some of the sf crowd; too much general weirdness, maybe, for some of the romance crowd. And that’s okay, too. Because other readers will like it. A few will love it and write to tell me so. (Note to those so inclined: please do!) And regardless of how many readers like NIGHT SEASON or hate it, love it or never even notice it, I’ll have to get up, feed my little furry family and myself, drink my coffee, and face the terror of the blank page in my current work-in-progress.

Oh, and in my book, too.

If you give NIGHT SEASON a try, you’ll see that change is a theme there as well. I don’t just kick my stubborn, cynical protagonist out of her comfortable rut—I knock her clear out of this world into a strange new one where the rules are different, bad guys with lots of teeth are after her, and the only way home involves the thing she’s worst at: trust.

And now it’s time for me to return to that blank page and see how many times I can fail today. Lots, I hope, because that means I’ve kept going, kept reaching, kept my attention on the process, not on an unattainable perfection. I’ll close by wishing you a wonderful 2008 filled with lots of bright, shiny failures—and even more getting up, trying again. And succeeding.

Eileen Wilks
http://www.eileenwilks.com/

You Might Be A Romanceaholic If...

I'm working on the third book in my Wedding Veil Wishes series.

The heroine is a starry-eyed romantic who gets her heart broken repeatedly. After she's dumped at the altar--for the second time--on the same day she discovers her parents--who she thought had the most perfect marriage--are getting divorced. It sends her into a tailspin and causes her to reevaulate her values. Born on Valentine's Day in Valentine, Texas she feels as if she's been set up her whole life to believe in romance when reality never lives up. To that end, she starts Romanceaholics Anonymous.

She sets up a crititeria for membership along the lines of Jeff Foxworthy's You Might Be A Redneck If, called You Might Be a Romanceaholic If....

Here's where I need your help. I'm looking for the funniest lines to complete that sentence.

Here's a couple of examples to get you started.

You might be a romanceaholic if your voice mail says, "leave a message, hug,hug, kiss, kiss." and then you make a big kissing noise to end the message.

You might be a romanceaholic if you've placed your phone number insidefortune cookies and pass them out to handsome single men.

You might be a romanceaholic if you wear silk stockings held up with a blackgarter belt.

You might be a romanceaholic if you spray lavender on your sheets at night.

I'll pick five winners and here's what you'll get:
1) Your lines will be used in the book and you'll be listed in the acknowlegement page.

2) Free copy of the second book in the Wedding Veil Wishes series, ONCE SMITTEN, TWICE SHY.
So come on, send in those lines. You Might Be A Romanceaholic If......

Sons of Privilege - Katherine Garbera

Writing for Silhouette Desire has always been a lot of fun for me. I love the diverse characters that inhabit the books that Desire publishes. And this month I'm kicking off a new series with an International flair--Sons of Priveledge. This three book series kicks off with Christos a Greek tycoon who has to claim a son he believes isn't his so that he can have an heir. He's sexy and arrogant.

Ava Monroe was in love with Christos a long time ago but when he accused her of sleeping with his brother she quickly realized that the love she was experiencing was simply one sided. She left Mykonos Greece determined to never think about Christos again. But when she sees on CNN that Christos' brother, sister-in-law and two children were killed in a small plane crash she is reminded of him again When he shows up to claim their son, she is ready to forgive him and go back to Greece with him but things don't go as smoothly as she hopes.

The story is set on the Island of Mykonos which is simply a beautiful place. Christos and his family have always lived there something that Ava finds lends a lot of weight to their family. In fact she feels very isolated at first until she finds her own place in this very domineering male culture.

I'm a big fan of traveling to new places if not in person than with a book or through my imagination. I've traveled to a few cosmopolitan cities like Manhattan, Los Angeles and London. I hope you enjoy The Greek Tycoon's Secret Heir and the chance to discover Greece if you've never been there.

Katherine
http://www.katherinegarbera.com/

Just Believe: Making New Year's Resolutions into Reality

It's New Year's Day, a time for starting those resolutions. In the spirit of new beginnings, I thought I'd share a personal story of a very special resolution.

In 2004, a writer friend of mine, Suzanne McMinn, suggested that I set up my own website. At the time, I was unpublished and struggling to sell a historical romance set in medieval Ireland. I was a little leery of websites, but she pointed out I was at a point in my career when I had plenty of time to create it, and I might as well start thinking about what I wanted. Plus, when I sold my first book, it would be one less thing to worry about.

That fall, I sent off a proposal to Harlequin Mills and Boon and decided that a website wouldn't hurt. After all, who was going to see it? As I played with the website, I added book blurbs and pretended to be a "real author." I even did a mock-up book cover and taped it onto one of my paperbacks. Later, I jokingly set up a web page for my medieval Irish warriors, complete with book titles and blurbs. And suddenly it struck me, that my warriors could become real, but only if I believed in myself.

That New Year in 2005, I made up my mind that I was going to do everything within my power to become a published author. But the key was believing it would happen. As I finished editing the full manuscript requested by Mills and Boon, I told myself that this book would be read by thousands of people. I couldn't afford to make mistakes. Before I mailed the book, I made sure that I had done everything I could to make this manuscript The One That Would Sell.

I couldn't realistically make a New Year's Resolution I would sell a book. After all, that was beyond my control. The only thing I could control was the quality of my writing and continually trying to become better. So that year, I resolved to Act As If I Were Published. It meant writing every day, revising, editing, and behaving like a professional. Instead of haunting the mailbox and stalking the phone, I reminded myself that published authors keep writing. And so I finished two more books.

When my first revision request arrived from Mills and Boon that May, I was stunned and thrilled at the same time. An editor was taking the time to work with me, and I was going to do whatever it took to bring the book up to the quality level she wanted. I had one shot—and I wasn't going to miss.

I mailed the revisions and kept writing. I even hired a professional web designer to revamp my website, as a way of celebrating. The editor e-mailed with more revisions that September, and I understood that I had someone willing to help me. I wasn't there yet, but she believed I could get there. I worked harder than ever on the book, pouring blood, sweat, and determination on every page.

That New Year, in 2006, I bought an extra bottle of champagne. Because I believed I was going to sell. I think my motivation and attitude started to flow into the universe because when I joined a local chapter of Romance Writers of America, they mistakenly printed me in the directory as a published author. I smiled to myself, because I believed it wasn't a misprint—it was just a matter of time. Sure enough, in September of 2006, I got The Call from my editor, wanting to buy the manuscript. It became Her Irish Warrior, my first book.

Since then, I've published two more books with Mills and Boon, the most recent being Her Warrior King. My medieval Irish warrior series became a reality, and I think it was truly because I had faith in my dream. It wasn't just a New Year's resolution—it was a personal promise.

When you set out to do your New Year's Resolutions this year, make goals that you truly believe in. Act as if you'll succeed. And who knows what might happen? Your dream just might come true.

As a fun way to start the new year, tell me what your dream is. I'll do a random drawing from the comments and choose a winner to receive a signed copy of Her Warrior King. Happy New Year!

Michelle Willingham is the author of three novels: Her Irish Warrior, The Warrior's Touch, and Her Warrior King. Visit her website at: http://www.michellewillingham.com/ for excerpts and more details.

Comfort Reads and Family Series—Barbara Pierce

Happy New Year’s Eve, Everyone!

With the exception of coming down with a nasty cold just before Christmas, this has been a productive month for me. My draft for Scandalous by Night is in my editor’s hands, Naughty by Nature hit the stores early this month, and I just heard Sinful Between the Sheets is a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee for Best Sensual Historical!

I’ve had so much fun writing about the Carlisle family. I was a huge fan of family series books long before I was published. The appeal as a reader was the enjoyment of catching up with beloved characters after they’ve had their happily-ever-after. As I writer, I’ve learned that as much as I love the characters from previous books, there is a delicate balance that must be maintained. You’re striving to satisfy faithful fans of the series, while not overwhelming new readers with a lot of back story or distracting secondary characters.

Thoughts of old favorites had me rummaging through my book boxes this afternoon. This week I’ve been catching up on movies, but now I’m in the mood for some old comfort reads. The first book I pulled out was Johanna Lindsey’s Gentle Rogue. James Mallory. I still sigh when I think about him and his brother Anthony. I have a weakness for unrepentant rakes.

Next, I removed Jude Devereaux’s Montgomery and Taggert books. I haven’t read The Raider in years. However, I do recall a hilarious scene where everyone in the village including dogs, cats, and horses where parading around in black masks and capes.

Another box contained Lorraine Heath’s Texas trilogy. I adored her Leigh brothers. All of Heath’s books fall under the category of books that I will never loan or give away. Mary Jo Putney’s Bride series and Catherine Coulter’s Sherbrooke series are also keepers.

That’s just a few of my favorite historical series. I also read contemporaries, short contemporaries, and paranormals—Well, you get the idea. I love books! What about you? What series books are your old favorites? What new series books are you looking forward to in 2008?

Happy Reading!

Barbara
www.barbarapierce.com

Holiday Limbo & New Year Wishes - Susan Mallery

The time between Christmas and New Years is always kind of weird. Holiday limbo. The present thing is done and the last of the baking pans from the big meal are at least washed...if not totally put away. But there's still the New Year to celebrate and it certainly deserves a good party.

I never know what to do with the tree and stuff. Keep it up? Take it down? Everyone wants it up until after New Years, but my personal theory is they say that so they'll be gone and they won't get stuck with the work. And then there's the issue of resolutions.

Last year I made a lot of resolutions. I wrote them down, printed out the list and promptly lost it. This year, I think I'm going to cut back to just one or two thing, but try to remember them. Because I have a feeling 2008 is going to be a very good year.

It's starting great--a book I've been waiting and waiting to see released is finally out. Even as we speak (or I type and you read) Accidentally Yours is on shelves.
Books are supposed to be like kids—as writers, we shouldn't have favorites. But this is one of mine favorites. I love everything about this book. I love Kerri, my heroine, who is determined and tough and vulnerable and willing to do anything in the world to get the job done. I like that Nathan, my hero, is so sure he’s a heartless bastard, when in truth, he’s terrified of loving and losing again.

Accidentally Yours is one of those special books writers talk about. A book of the heart. It just came to me over take-out, while my husband was out of town and I was trying to decide which chick flick to watch. I can’t explain the process by which a book arrives fully formed in my head; I only know I wish it happened more often. There was something so easy about writing this book, as if I knew everything that was supposed to happen. It felt a little like magic.

During this special time of year, I wish you and yours the very best of everything. May the New Year bring you happiness, good fortune and health! And if you’re looking to add a little sparkle to your holiday season, give Accidentally Yours a try. I think you’ll love it!

If you get a chance, please visit my website http://www.susanmallery.com/. We’ll be running a special contest for Accidentally Yours starting January 1st, 2008!!

Susan

Anne Gracie -- The dreaded R-word

Wow, when I signed up for this date, I didn't realize Lilian Darcy was going to be on before me. Thanks Lilian, and I so agree with you about the importance of friends.

In fact I think one of the best things about being a romance author has been the friends I've made -- and keep making. It came as a surprise, actually -- I expected to be working totally alone, and that I'd miss the friends I'd made at my other workplace. Nut no -- I do work by myself in something of a cave but I'm never really alone. There is always a friend on the end of the email or the phone. And that's a real blessing.

But that's not what I planned to blog about today. It being nearly the end of the year, I thought I ought to write something about that little piece of insanity we all go through around New Year -- I'm taking about the dreaded R-word -- resolutions.

I don't do resolutions. They invariably make me feel like a failure, as very few of these bright shiny new intentions last. So I'm not making a resolution -- but maybe I have a Plan. ;)

A few months back I was feeling really stale. I was suffering from post book slump, and though I had a big to-be-read pile of brand new shiny books, for some reason nothing appealed. I picked them over listlessly and they slid to the floor. So then I looked at my bulging bookcases and decided it was time for a clear out. (Clear outs for me are much like resolutions -- a guaranteed failure! I'm such a pack rat.)

So I started with my keeper book case ... Yes, another spectacular failure, if you use the number of books cleared out as a marker.

But oh, what a time I had!

It started with Susan Elizabeth Phillip's Nobody's Baby But Mine. What a mistake. ;) There went the next few hours. Blissfully.

I opened keeper after keeper, just to check whether they still hit the mark, and got lost in each one. It was the beginning of a massive reading binge -- a rereading binge, actually.

Over the next week I became a complete glutton, filling up on the stories that had first caused me to become a romance writer; I fell in love with again heroes like Dominic le Sabre, with the Marquis of Dain, with Simon Augustus Blade, the Earl of Traherne and with some really hunky navy seals. I got my socks knocked off by Johanna Lindsay's warriors, and by Wolf Mackenzie and his gorgeous son. I sobbed at the end of Eva Ibbotson's Morning Gift and LaVyrle Spencer's Morning Glory, and I traveled the south of France with my ancient copy of Madam Will You Talk. I chuckled through the dinner party scene in Strange Bedpersons, and the Nemesis and old Horley conversation from Friday's Child and I went on a complete Heyer glom, loving the fiery courtship of Deb and Max, Phoebe and Sylvester, and the incomparable Damerel.

I had the most wonderful time. And in the process I fell in love all over again with my chosen genre. What a gift these books are, to make you laugh and cry and feel so satisfied at the end. And how lucky I feel to be writing in such a gorgeous genre.

So if the New Year madness comes upon me, and I find myself making a resolution, it won't be one I'm likely to break; it's to reread my old keepers, as well as new books.

So what are some of your favorite keepers, or beloved comfort reads?

Anne

http://www.annegracie.com/

Paying Tribute to Friends - Lilian Darcy

Since I’ve been around the romance business for quite a while, I know a lot of writers – seasoned professionals with fifty-plus books to their name, over-the-moon new writers still celebrating all the milestones that come with their first publication, writers hitting their first serious block after their career had been looking so good, writers who’ve started asking themselves, “Should I be pushing myself so hard?” and even writers who are thinking they might retire in a year or two.

The one thing they all have in common is the value and importance they ascribe to their writing friends. Everyone says it in a different way. “Even after I stop, I don’t want to lose my friends.” “The best thing about this business is the friends I’ve made.” “I couldn’t stay the distance if I wasn’t for my writing friends.”

Today, then, since it’s the holiday season, I want to pay tribute to my writing friends. I can’t mention everyone, and this is in no particular order, but here are some of the people I really love and value and couldn’t do without:-

Anne Gracie – she writes gorgeous historical romances with gorgeous covers, she works tirelessly for our genre through her involvement with Romance Writers of Australia, and has some of the best arguments I’ve ever heard for the value of what we do and why our books deserve the respect they so often fail to receive. She also spoils her friends with her magical discoveries – exotic gourmet treats, wonderful music we’ve never heard before, that store in Melbourne where you buy the feather boas and other finery. This year Anne’s gifts to me range from home-made salted capers through to hours of listening and advice about my writing, and I’ve appreciated every word and every crystal of salt.

Jane Porter – you don’t have to be a single mom to love her “Odd Mom Out” or “Flirting with Forty”, the truth and humor leaps off the page regardless, and her ever-increasing success shows that word is getting out. But you do have to know her to understand just how much she gives, not only to her own career but to any writer needing a fresh creative insight, or a morale boost after a negative critique, or a quiet drink/coffee in a dark corner somewhere at RWA National. Really, seriously, I could not do without Jane, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Marion Lennox – you’ll recognize her at RWA National because she’s bowed down by the weight of her Rita pins. Eleven nominations, is it? And two wonderful wins. Time and time again, Marion’s books take you to her own unique universe where the grit of real life is touched with the gold dust and magic of humor, warmth and romance. Marion is the kind of person people instinctively turn to with their problems, so when I send her one of my long, whiny emails I suspect it’s usually about the twentieth such email she’s already had that day. This does not stop her from replying with as much warmth and generosity as she would if it was the first email she’d ever received in her life.

Bronwyn Jameson – with three Rita nominations for her Silhouette Desires in one year, she doesn’t need me to tell anyone what a fabulous writer of contemporary romance she is. What you probably don’t know is that the two of us managed an eight-hour car journey together last year and did not stop talking about writing the entire time. Were we bored? Not for a second. Did we agree about everything? Pretty much. In March, we’re making a similar journey, and doing the reverse trip five days later. Can we talk about writing for sixteen hours? I’m feeling confident. Watch this space.

Okay, this is already getting long and I’ve hardly mentioned anyone. There are so many more. Trish Morey (Harlequin Presents) and Carol Marinelli (Harlequin Medical and Presents) who are both so funny and clever and make me laugh all the time. Liz Fielding and Barbara Hannay (Harlequin Romance) and Kate Hardy (Harlequin Medical and Modern Extra) who said such lovely things about my novel Café du Jour, at times when I was, as usual, riddled with doubt. Beverley Brand and Brenda Hiatt – we got to know each other at the Ninc conference in San Diego and had some great times - belly dancing, opera, late night conversations, I could go on. I’m leaving people out, I know I am. Meredith Webber and Alison Roberts, the other two (along with Marion Lennox and myself) “Croc Creek girls” self-named after our twelve-book Medical Romance mini-series, “Crocodile Creek – 24-hour Rescue.” Kelly Hunter and Fiona McArthur, um, um, Wendy Warren, Laura Iding, all sorts of people I only see at RWA National but who I immediately want to hug, such as Barbara Dunlop, C.J. Carmichael, Su Lute.

My teenage son has just come up behind me and heaved a large sigh, indicative of his desire to take over my computer, so I’d better stop. Happy New Year, everyone, and may you love and value and enjoy your friends as much as I do.

Lilian Darcy

http://www.liliandarcy.com

New Year Wishes - Helen Bianchin

It's the time of year when families and friends gather together to share the spirit and joy of Christmas, reflect on the year with all its highs and lows ... and look to the coming year with anticipation and hope.

Achievements in 2007 saw two books sent in on deadline (and yes, meeting deadline is something!)

As a family, we've been fortunate to enjoy good health.

Our three felines continue to give and receive affection.

I think I'm ready to welcome a little llaso apso puppy into the family after losing our beloved Maltese terrier almost a year ago.

Resolutions for the year fell a little by the wayside ...

Consequently, I'm listing sensible resolutions for 2008!

Here are just a few ...

1. Write good books and meet deadlines

2. Give up chocolate ...

3. Reduce my to-be-read pile of books.

4. Master chess, so the youngest members of my family don't wipe the board with me.

5. Learn the Italian language fluently ...

Maybe giving up chocolate might be a bit of a stretch!

So, too, might be becoming fluent in the Italian language.

But hey ... three out of five can't be bad!

I'd love to hear some of your New Year wishes ... together with a resolution or three!

I have an upcoming release in April 2008 ... The Martinez Marriage Revenge featuring Shannay and Marcello Martinez, set initially in Perth, Australia, and mainly in Madrid, Spain.

Purchased: His Perfect Wife features Lara and Wolfe, set initially in Sydney, and mainly in New York. The release date has yetto be announced.

To one and all ... may your 2008 be filled with good health and happiness.

Kind regards,

Helen Bianchin

Australia

Deep And Crisp And Even… - Christina Hollis

…that’s what we like – snow, for a proper, old fashioned English ‘Boxing Day’. Unfortunately we rarely get it these days. Whether or not global warming is to blame, weather in this country is usually damp and mild until Christmas, and then cold and dry until April. Of course, there’s always the unexpected blizzard to keep us all on our toes and off the roads!

The seven days between Christmas and New Year always seem gloomy, no matter what the weather. Knowing how miserable this can be, I’ve been saving a special treat for myself. The moment I saw the cover of Michelle Styles’ book ‘A Christmas Wedding Wager’, I knew I had to have it. After getting my hands on a copy, I’ve managed to avoid opening it so far. I’ll be starting Emma and Jack’s story later today, as soon as I can find enough time to curl up with a cup of tea and a slice of home-made Clementine cake. A solitary pleasure like that makes a lovely contrast to all the partying, and there’s been plenty of that this year.

With three titles out in 2007 (The Italian Billionaire’s Virgin, Count Giovanni’s Virgin and One Night In His Bed) my feet have hardly touched the ground. I’d like to thank all my readers for making this year really special for me. Visit my website, http://www.christinahollis.com/, to keep an eye on what’s going on. In February 2008, One Night In His Bed is going to be my first USA ‘Presents’ release, so that will be a really exciting time. I’m already starting to plan the stories I’ll be writing in the New Year, which will keep me busy until drier weather lets me start work on the garden again.

Christmas can be a difficult time for some people. I hope you have had a peaceful, restful holiday season wherever you are, and whatever you’ve been doing. And to end on a cheerful note, look what my lovely sister and her husband got for Christmas 2007 – triplets!

Christina

http://www.christinahollis.com/

Christine Rimmer Wishes Everyone a Very Merry Christmas!

Well, here at my house, we've had our traditional Christmas breakfast of bacon, French toast and coffee with cream. Now it's on to the preparation of the Christmas feast. This year it will be prime rib in a rich rub of garlic, butter and herbs. And mashed potatoes (more butter, more cream) and green beans and cranberry sauce and...

Okay, okay. Enough with the food. I'll be dieting and I know it--after the New Year.

At my house, the kids are young adults now. And it's more about the getting together and the good times than it is the gifts. You could say, being together is the gift nowadays. And that's just lovely as far as I'm concerned...

I can't linger here long. I know you all understand. Just wanted to let you know I appreciate each and every one of you. And whatever your holiday traditions, may every moment be filled with joy, peace and most of all, love.

--Christine Rimmer

Happy Holidays! - Susan Stephens

Sunday, Sweet Sunday, with Nothing to do...

Ha! Is all I'm saying about that. I don't know about you, but glorious chaos reigns triumphant in the Stephens' household for weeks at a time at this time of year.

If there's anyone out there who manages to keep up with everyday chores and still find time to sit back and appreciate the holiday season, I salute you.

Once a year I hear from a whole crowd of people I knew years back. We write 'Round Robins' to keep up with each others news, and just occasionally, depending on where we are on the planet, distance permits us to get together.

It's a real joy to make contact with good friends even if I don't see them on a daily basis, and I say hang the washing and ironing I want to take advantage of this. Right now my house is bursting at the seems with family, friends, and friends of friends, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I wish you and all those closest to you the happiest of times during this wonderful time of year- make time to enjoy it, y'hear?

Big smiles, hugs and friendship coming your way from the UK, and I hope 2008 proves to be your best year yet, in every way.

Susan
http://www.susanstephens.net/

Author Trivia - Lee Hyat

Can you guess this author?

* She's lived in exciting places like Tokyo, Beverly Hills, New York, and Greenwich.

* Paris felt like home the moment she caught a glimpse of it.

* Her favorite authors include Balzac and Stendhal.

* Art history is one of her passions.

* She co-authored a column for the monthly Hollywood Reporter Magazine.

* She was a contributing writer for Capital Style Magazine.

* She became intrigued with Impressionist Paris during her year of academic research at Christie's.

* She graduated from UCLA.

* She lives New York & Connecticut.

* Her next book, another historical novel, is also set in Paris.

If you can guess her name and then also tell me the title of her current book, please email me at totebag[at]authorsoundrelations.com with your answers and be sure to put Author Trivia in the subject heading.

At the end of this month, I'll pick 3 winners from everyone who answers correctly. The prize for each winner is a copy of the book. And everyone's entitled to play - even authors. (You were readers before you were authors so for my contests, it's all fair!)

Please don't post your answers here - it would ruin the fun for eveyrone else. Just email them to me at totebag[at]authorsoundrelations.com. :)

Good luck!
Lee

ANSWER: Debra Finerman - MADEMOISELLE VICTORINE