eHarlequin's 100,000 Book Reading Challenge

eHarlequin.com Issues 100,000 Book Reading Challenge

National Center for Family Literacy to receive up to 100,000 books with estimated valued of $700,000

Toronto, (February 11, 2008)—eHarlequin.com (http://www.blogger.com/Local%20Settings/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK5F/www.eHarlequin.com), the online site for Harlequin Enterprises Limited, is challenging its community members to read an astounding 100,000 books in one year in the 2008 eHarlequin.com 100,000 Book Challenge. When the reading challenge ends on December 31, 2008, Harlequin will make an unprecedented donation of an equivalent number of books to the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). The estimated retail value of a 100,000 book donation to the NCFL by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. is $700,000 U.S.

The stated mission of NCFL is to create a literate nation by leveraging the power of the family. Family literacy helps parents and children form a learning partnership that ends the cycle of poverty and low literacy. NCFL works to find solutions to the literacy crises that build on the family by creating a new cycle of ongoing learning and mutual support. Since its inception in 1989, NCFL has provided leadership to solve the national literacy problem. Through groundbreaking initiatives, NCFL fuels life improvement for the nation’s most disadvantaged children and parents. More than one million families throughout the country have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of NCFL’s work, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers.

“Recent studies show that people are reading literature less and less,” said Sharon Darling, president & founder of NCFL. “This reading challenge not only will provide an important incentive for everyone to read more, it also will greatly benefit the millions of adults who have low literacy – 34 million in the United States alone and 771 million globally.”

In addition to promoting literacy, the 2008 eHarlequin.com 100,000 Book Challenge encourages readers to discuss the titles they have read on the eHarlequin.com website in their own blogs. Those participating in the challenge share their thoughts, reviews, opinions, recommendations and progress. Another remarkable and unforeseen aspect to the challenge is that many people who were not bloggers—or who even knew what a blog was—are now passionate blog hosts and are spearheading online discussions in the forums.

“Our readers are very passionate,” says Jayne Hoogenberk, community manager for eHarlequin.com. “They read, talk, think and dream about books 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. The median number of paperbacks read in one year by Americans is 12. The median for Harlequin readers is 30. Since we’re always looking for ways to inspire and challenge our community members, we wondered if, as a group, they would be able to read 100,000 books in a single calendar year and through our donation of 100,000 books, share that love of reading with others who don’t have such easy access to entertaining and engaging literature for women.”

The original book challenge was laid down on eHarlequin.com in January 2006 and challenged community members to each read 100 books. Seventy-five community members took up the gauntlet. By the end of the year, 55 of those people had read or exceeded the goal. In 2007 eHarlequin.com challenged its members to read 10,000 books collectively. By year end they had read an astounding 24,440 books. To date 350+ participants have accepted the 2008 100,000 Book Challenge. In one week they have already read some 1,000+ books.

“The response of the past two years was so overwhelmingly positive that we had to keep going,” states Hoogenberk. “We also knew that we had to up the ante. And so the 2008 eHarlequin.com 100,000 Book Challenge for literacy was born. Last year we capped the number of participants and still easily surpassed our target. Since the event has generated such positive feedback, and in order to reach our goal of 100,000 books read, we’ve decided to leave registration open-ended this year.”

There are no hard and fast rules other than participants being asked to have at least 50% of their list be novels published by Harlequin. This allows readers to discover the outstanding breadth of editorial Harlequin has to offer. The other 50% of books can be any genre by any publisher. Likewise, all formats—print, eBooks, audiobooks, etc.—are acceptable, and readers are encouraged to seek them out and give them a try.

The range and diversity of Harlequin readers is not confined solely to the type of books they read or the medium in which they enjoy them. The online nature of the eHarlequin.com community illustrates the significant power of books to unite readers in a global way. Geographic boundaries have become meaningless in this venture as the challenge brings together readers from countries as varied as Germany, France and the Philippines, as well as Harlequin editors in Toronto, New York and London and Harlequin authors from around the world.

The 2008 eHarlequin.com 100,000 Book Challenge is taking place right now at eHarlequin.com.

About Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance and one of the world's leading publishers of women's fiction, with titles issued worldwide in 25 languages and sold in 94 international markets. The company releases over 115 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,300 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.nv.b). Harlequin's website is located at http://www.eharlequin.com/. Harlequin has offices in 18 countries, including offices in Toronto, New York and London. For more information please visit http://www.eharlequin/ or press.eHarlequin.com.

About National Center for Family Literacy
The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is the worldwide leader in family literacy, an intergenerational approach to help families escape poverty through education. More than 1 million families have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of NCFL’s work, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers. Educators, policymakers and philanthropists rely on NCFL to mobilize family literacy efforts, conduct research and develop new, effective tools to leverage the learning relationship between parents and children. Family literacy, pioneered by NCFL, is a powerful community strategy for raising educational levels, improving workforce skills and breaking the cycle of poverty. Visit http://www.famlit.org/ to learn more, make a donation, locate a literacy program in your area or find out how to become a volunteer.

Lucky for Some

by Anna Campbell

This is a picture of the lucky bamboo plant that my good friend and fellow writer Amy Andrews gave me several months ago. It's still alive in my less than tender care which means it's definitely a LUCKY bamboo plant! I'm not the greatest person with pot plants as the sad dried-up corpses of all my previous pot plants will attest!

Apparently feng shui says it's good luck to have something green and alive in your workspace. I'll take anything I can get, frankly, especially at the moment as I'm in the early stages of a new story. And I must say my bamboo always makes me smile and feel good, so that's lucky in itself.

Do you believe in luck? I do - but I think the luckiest people are the ones who work hard to make sure that they're in a position to take advantage of whatever luck comes their way. As a writer, it's lucky if you get the judges to like your work and give you the marks to win a contest, or if you place your work in front of an editor or agent who gets what you're trying to do and decides that they'll go into bat to have your work published. Those, and a thousand other variables, are completely outside your control in this business.

But writing the best piece of work you can is something within your control so then you're in a position to take advantage of any luck that happens your way. So perhaps I feel fortune favors the brave! Luck plays a huge part in any writing career but you'll be luckier if you make sure everything you can control is as good as you can get it.

On a smaller scale in terms of cosmic good fortune, I've just put up my March/April contest on my website. I've had a spring clean (although we're moving into autumn here in Australia!) of my prize cupboard and come up with four great signed books that I'll give away to one lucky entrant who answers a simple question. The prizes are For the Sheikh's Pleasure by Annie West, Rescue at Cradle Lake by Marion Lennox, Scandal's Daughter by Christine Wells and Bride of Shadow Canyon by Stacey Kayne. Fantastic reads, all of them! You can check the details out here. Good luck!

So how big a part has luck played in your life? Are you superstitious? Do you have special rituals or talismans you think make you lucky?

My 360 Degree Vantage Point - Michelle Monkou

I saw the movie Vantage Point and absolutely loved it. The storyline in a linear method would not have been terribly interesting, however looking at things through everyone's eyes held special appeal and suspense.

Today, I'm going to tweak that with highlights of my vantage point in my world around me. There's no reasoning behind the way that I'll reveal my personal A-ha moments. These are the random firings of my mind.

• Sold two books to Kimani Romance that continue my Ladies of Distinction series. They will be out in February and September 2009. The first is due to the editor by May 7.



• I finally saw the movie Michael Clayton and absolutely loved this cerebral thriller. The understated suspense, innuendos, and characters' arcs were fantastic. I'm a movie nut and own quite a vast collection of movies. I tend to play movies in the background as I write.



• Very rarely do I eat to the point of gluttony. But I surely went to that point when I went to a restaurant in Houston, TX called Jaspers. Chefs Kent and Kevin Rathbun defeated Bobby Flay on Iron Chef season premiere 2/25/08. I ordered Crispy Calamari, and also sampled someone's Salt Crusted Rock Shrimp. Ordered Slow Roasted Baby Back Ribs with Potato Salad and Bourbon Cream Corn (You can request for your order to be split, but my portion still looked like a full meal). I sampled someone's Delmonio Prime Rib- OMG!!! It melted in your mouth. Thank goodness for elastic waistbands.



• I came home from a trip and my husband had cleaned the family room that had once looked like a police raid had occurred. Let the choir sing - Hallelujah!!



• Then, because I don't have enough to do, I declared my intent to run for Romance Writers of America's (RWA) president-elect position later this year. I've got my headache and antacid medicines ready and waiting. But I think a box of chocolates and Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies should do the rest of the trick.
  


• Thanks to Leena Hyat, owner of this Sound Relations and this wonderful blog, a line up of publicity is due to be rolled out for my April release - No One But You and Gamble On Love (October 2008).

And now back to the regular programming of life, family, and writing. Got to make that deadline.

See ya later.

Michelle Monkou

Ah, research . . . in search of a hero :: Anne McAllister

Last month when I was here, I talked about research.

Research, last month, was about interviewing bull riders and baseball umpires and finding castles in Ireland or perfect Caribbean islands or leaning how to build an 11 ton sandcastle. All the things, in other words, that make books authentic, that give me details to hang my story on.

But there is another kind of research that's equally important -- and no less enjoyable.

It's finding heroes.

Those of you who have been on my blog or Kate Walker's or the Pink Heart Society blog are aware of the Hugh-in-a-towel motivational technique. If you aren't familiar with it, it goes like this: whenever you get stuck or, in a lecture, whenever you want to bring your audience back to what you are saying, you flash a picture of Hugh-in-a-towel in front of them.

Works every time.

But when you've written as many books as I have, you sometimes need other inspiration (not to mention the fact that when I wrote my first book, Hugh was in high school).

Anyway, this requires research. Finding appropriate heroes who embody visual aspects of the man I'm writing about. Sometimes this means clipping pictures out of catalogs or magazines. More recently, it's meant trawling the internet in search of buttoned
down intense dark-haired men who could be my current architect hero.

When I first began my book I had what I thought was the perfect hero. But as I've written, he's changed. He no longer looks like this guy on the left. Well, if he ever smiled, he might.

But presently, he doesn't. He looks more . . . intense. And he has a neater haircut. My Sebastian is controlled, focused. This guy above is too easy-going.

So I think I'm going to borrow Kate Walker's inspiration (below) for my current guy as well. Or maybe this other guy to the right. I'll have to see which one feels the most, um, Sebastian.

Whichever, he'll be entirely different as a McAllister hero than as a Walker hero in any case, trust me.

Sometimes I get the right guy right off. But sometimes, like Sebastian, he shapeshifts on me.

Flynn, in my ONE-NIGHT LOVE CHILD started out looking a lot like James Purefoy. But by the time I finished the book he didn't at all. Weird. I had to go and find another hero. This is definitely more Flynn.

If you write, do you need to visualize your hero? And if you're a reader, do you visualize a particular guy when you're reading?

Most important of all, who can you suggest as great hero material? I'd love to hear from you!

Anne McAllister's ONE-NIGHT LOVE CHILD is a March 2008 Harlequin Presents. It is the story of Flynn Murray and Sara McMaster who first appeared 6 years ago in her Silhouette Code of the West book, THE GREAT MONTANA COWBOY AUCTION.

If you remember them, you can find out what happened next in ONE-NIGHT LOVE CHILD. And if you don't remember them or didn't read the earlier book, that's all right, too. Anne can barely remember what she wrote yesterday let alone what she wrote six years ago. So this book stands on its own!

Those Racy Covers by Megan Crane

I wrote up my recent reading over at my blog, and talked about reading Bedded By Her Lord by Denise Lynn on a flight from New York to Los Angeles:

One of the things I admire about Harlequin is that they deliver exactly what they promise, and to make sure of this, they announce it on the cover, right there in the title. I don't need to tell you what this book is about-- you already know. It's genius marketing, really. But I kind of wished for a little less marketing genius while I was reading it on the plane, arousing the delight of the sketchy guy across the aisle and the contempt of the girl in my row who was reading Sartre. (Yes, really.) Oh well. At least I got used to defensively reading paperbacks with racy covers lo these many years ago, or I might have been really uncomfortable.

Racy covers were always a problem for me, starting with the bodice-ripper pirate romances that were my introduction to romance novels, thanks to the bargain bin at the local Woolworth's. And when I say they were a problem for me, what I mean is, they were clearly a problem for everyone who saw my pre-teen self clutching one of those covers to my nose, eagerly drinking them in. I received horrified lectures from shopkeepers, teachers, the parents of friends.

Does your mother know what you're reading? one store owner demanded, refusing to sell me a Shirlee Busbee novel when I was in the ninth grade.

Never one to be shy or retiring in the face of injustice, I promptly responded that while my mother might not know which book I was reading, she wouldn't care, as she did not censor my reading material. (Which was happily true, though the mean old troll still refused to sell me the book.)

As time went on, friends turned up their noses at my collection of romances and refused to read them, even when I told them these books were the best I'd ever read. The poetic, angry young men I wanted to date sneered at them. While I was in graduate school, an old friend introduced me by saying, she's studying for a PhD AND she reads romance novels!!, and then everyone in the room gawked at me.

Now that I'm an author, I know exactly how little input authors have into their covers, and I also know that the racier the cover, the more copies the book will sell. So I can only think that for every prim creature who gasped or sneered at one of the racy covers in my hand, three more hurried out and bought themselves a copy.

I know I'm not the only person who has had to contend with these sorts of responses. Short of clubbing the Sartre-reading snob over the head with my Harlequin Historical (and having read both, I think Denise Lynn was the better choice), what's your go-to response for the inevitable snobbery you encounter out there?

Airplanes - Susanna Carr

As the title suggests in my newest Jenesi Ash release, MILE-HIGH MISTRESS is set on an airplane.

It's kind of strange that I wrote a story with that setting because I really don't like flying on planes. I don't have a fear of flying, but I dread the ordeal. The lines, the delays, the missed connections, the turbulence, the claustrophobia, the weirdo sitting next to you for the next couple of hours, the air sickness… what's not to hate?

There was one time I had to take a flight that lasted 36 hours (including two quick stopovers to change planes.) I swore then and there that I would never get back on a plane. But, of course I had to do it all over again because I wanted to get back home!

And this summer I have to take a plane to the RWA conference in San Francisco and to the Lori Foster/Dianne Castell Reader Writer Get Together in Ohio. I am really looking forward to both events, but I'm dreading those plane rides!

Any suggestions on how to make flight travel more comfortable?

Susanna

http://www.susannacarr.com/

All things Mediterranean - Katherine Garbera

This month I'm celebrating the release of The Spanish Aristocrat's Woman. It's a book that is set mainly in Madrid. I have long had a love affair with Spain and to be honest all of the Mediterranean. I love their food, their look, and their outlook on life.

A couple of year's ago I read a book called French Woman Don't Get Fat. Have any of you read it? It's not a diet book or even an exercise book. It's a book on lifestyle. And its that lifestyle that I love. The way they embrace the changes in every season and their outwardly laid-back pace of life.

I think because I'm Italian American maybe it appeals to me. I've always enjoyed a slower pace in my daily routine. I take a 30 minute nap every afternoon. I have always been at home with my dark curly hair and my curves. I enjoy at least one glass of wine each evening and never skip dessert.

Is there a region or area of the world that suits you and your lifestyle?

Kathy
http://www.katherinegarbera.com/

The Side Benefits by Bronwyn Jameson

Initially I had a different idea for this blog. Being February 29, a once-every-four-years date, I was going to use that as a theme. Now, my mind has a way of taking circuitous routes and many detours before arriving at its destination...or an alternate destination, which is what happened today.

While driving to town I started thinking about today and leap years and I remembered another February, another leap year eight years ago, when I sold my first book. From there my mind took a leisurely detour through the intervening years and I was reminded of how much I've done in this eight years and how much is due to my romance writing. The travel for conferences, the detours I've taken on those trips, the research experiences, the people I've met, my personal growth and change that's empowered me to do things and make decisions I would not have done ten years ago.

And that is how I arrived at this alternate topic for my blog:

10 things I would not have done if I hadn't sold that first (and subsequent) books.

1. Seen New Orleans, New York, Reno and Atlanta on trips to RWA conferences, with stopovers in Toronto, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Los Angeles. Nor would I have gotten to frock up and enjoy the conference parties with remarkable women such as these down-under authors.

2. Visited my sister-in-law and her family in Alberta, Canada, on one of those trips.

3. Driven a red convertible on the "wrong" side of the road in Nevada (we're from Australia, y'know)...and along the Vegas strip.

4. Biked across the Golden Gate Bridge (the skirt was a mistake, BTW.)

5. Slept under the most brilliant, magical night sky on an Outback camping safari.

6. Experienced the immense pride of seeing my books up on the big screen at the RWA Awards night.

7. Gone to the opera (holy cow, the opera!), to see La Boheme at the Sydney Opera House.

8. Thrown caution (and the budget) to the wind in hosting a fully catered 21st birthday party for son #1 (it was fabulous!)

9. Suggested that my husband throw caution (and budget) to the wind and buy himself a horse (she is fabulous!)

10. Met the most amazing women in fellow lovers of romance novels, and made the best, funniest, smartest, most empathetic friends a woman could have.

Bronwyn's next release TYCOON'S ONE-NIGHT REVENGE is available tomorrow as a print and ebook from eHarlequin and from other stores in April. This is a spin-off to Bronwyn's RITA-finalist The Ruthless Groom. If you enjoyed The Princes of the Outback then don't miss out on Susannah's story.

What I Love About Blaze

If you’ve been reading my Blazes for any length of time—say, at least a year—you may have already guessed that I have a hard time settling down with any one style of story. I’ve written a Blaze time travel, several dark cop dramas, a Sex in the City style series set in South Beach, a Wrong Bed, and a couple of pseudo-pirates on the prowl. In March, I’ll add a cursed sports agent and a psychic investigator to the mix. Some of my stories have been more along the lines of a sexy romp while others have been angsty explorations of sensuality. There’s a chance my rampant story explorations have made it tougher for readers to know what to expect from a Joanne Rock read. But I’ve gotta say—I love that I can do so many different things in Blaze.

Where else can readers find such huge diversity in plot lines? From strong suspense plots to the occasional ghost or vampire, Blaze charts a huge amount of story terrain in six books a month. With a wide range of recurring miniseries like Forbidden Fantasies, the Wrong Bed, Extreme and Blush, the line makes it easy for fans to find the type of Blaze that most appeals to them. This summer, the series charts all new territory in a traditionally contemporary line when Blaze introduces its first historical—Hope Tarr’s Bound and Determined. I’m hoping readers are excited about seeing a Blaze style premise played out in a historical setting as I am.

Because, quite honestly, writing for Blaze is a writer’s dream from a creative perspective. With the only dictate being a red-hot premise, the sky’s the limit on plot development. I have the freedom to listen to my Muse and follow where she dictates.

Take for instance GETTING LUCKY, my March release. I wanted to write a story set in the Thousand Islands ever since I read a book about Boldt Castle. The setting is remote and romantic, the kind of backdrop you’d see in an old Gothic novel. Furthermore, I hoped to use some of those Gothic elements to enrich the story. But what would work in a Blaze?

Enter my blue blood sports agent who is losing his career and his assets at an alarming rate. He retreats to the family place where he grew up to meet with a psychic investigator in the hope she can remove whatever curse is hanging over his head. And before I knew it, spooky things were happening left and right while my couple discovered the unlucky hero definitely hadn’t lost his mojo in the bedroom. I had so much fun with this story. And it could only happen in a Blaze.

Here’s an excerpt I hope you’ll enjoy. And even if my March Blaze isn’t up your alley, I hope you’ll check out the rest of the month’s offering. I’ll bet you’ll find something fabulous…

Writing Deadlines - Terri Brisbin

To paraphrase Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer on a deadline must be in want of a well-trained family. I’ve been writing on deadlines for ten years now and I think my family might finally be getting the hang of it!

At first, with a five-year-old, a ten-year-old and a fifteen-year-old, it was nearly impossible to write from the time school ended until the moment they finally fell asleep at night, so most of my writing happened in the wee-small hours of late night. Training them seemed more work than simply adjusting my own schedule to theirs, so I bided my time.
Later, as the boys grew and the contracts continued, and as I learned my deadline-binge-writing style was not a fluke, my husband and I began to plan ahead, turning down invitations during those last few weeks before the book was due and rearranging work and other commitments to open up some quality writing time. With each book, my wider circle of family and friends accepted the ‘I’m on deadline’ excuse with a bit less persuasion, and even some measure of enthusiasm. Even my mother-in-law began explaining my absences from family events with a knowing look and accepting tone. This was good!

I began training my children and husband to observe the little warning sign and the closed office door. Unless something (or someone!) was on fire or bleeding, Dad was the designated parent-in-charge. Meals were on-the-fly and could even involve two or three nights in a row of take-out. Meals by Mom were appreciated when they appeared on the table and not expected or demanded. This was going really well!

Now, one son is grown and married, another has just moved out into his own apartment and I have only one son left at home. My husband finds being the parent-in-charge much less a challenge with only one to chase after. . . or to take to the doctor’s when the inevitable illness happens as it always does when I’m on deadline.

So, if I’m dealing with only one child and one husband now, how can I tell if they’re really trained well or if it’s just a more manageable group? Let me tell you. . . .

One of the things that helps me write, or that I just need, during those last minute deadline binges is a bag of salty pretzels. Some authors need chocolate, some need caffeine. I need pretzels. My husband watches as I stockpile bags and knows that deadline writing is coming…. IT’S COMING!!

This past weekend as I returned from a day-job business trip with another one planned for this weekend and a novella due. . . on Monday. . . my husband demonstrated that all these years of training have been working. He presented me with three bags of pretzels and called them my novella-writing package! Yay!

Now, with my well-trained family in position for this week’s deadline writing binge, I can move assuredly towards finishing my novella. And, of course, that’s what I’m doing if my editor asks…

Terri

www.terribrisbin.com

Christine Rimmer, Cat Person

It's true. I am a cat person. To the left, living testament to my love of cats--Tom, in black, and Ed, the gray tabby. They're both Second Chance cats, meaning my kids chose them from a cat shelter. And then, of course, my kids promptly grew up and moved away, leaving their care to me.

Really, I don't mind. Not in the least. They say people are one or the other--a dog or a cat person. I guess for me, cats are it.

It's not that I don't like dogs. I do like them. After all, they're way smart and you can train them to bring you the paper and if you treat them well, they're likely to lavish you with slavish attention.

OTOH, the cat. Want attention? Wait for it. You'll get it when your cat is darn good and ready to bestow it. And as to training, well, provide a litter box and chances are your cat will use it. Cats actually do know the things they're not supposed to do. My cats know they are forbidden to perch on tables or kitchen counters. So they only do it when I'm not around. Sometimes they forget I'm in the house and one of them will get up on the kitchen table to gaze dreamily out the bow window into the backyard, tail twitching lazily at the sight of a squirrel or a bird. Should I happen to quietly sneak up on the culprit with my trusty spray bottle of water, well, you should see the look of shock and dismay on his face before I start yelling "No!" and chasing him around the house--priceless. Cats hate it when you mess with their dignity. And there's nothing so undignified as having to run away from a screaming human with a spray bottle.

I love how clean they are. My cats are constantly bathing. They bathe each other. Sometimes, they even forget I'm just a human and they try to bathe me. I love the rough scratch of their tongues and how velvety their fur is. I love the sound of their purring. I love the way they talk to me. Yes. Talk. Both of my cats are talkers. Ed's voice is pure--and sharply grating when he "captures" one of his small stuffed animals and carries it around the house, yowling. Tom's meow is rusty. Croaky, even. When he meows I want to grab him and hug him tight. If he'll let me.

After all, he is a cat. And a cat will inevitably do what a cat wants to do. I like that in a pet. I like that a lot.


So how 'bout you? A cat person? Or do you favor dogs? Or...?

My Website

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Queen of Dragons - Shana Abé

I write about dragons. Some people seem slightly befuddled by this: do I write romance or do I write fantasy? Answer: Yes. LOL. What it means is that I’m one of those lucky, lucky writers who gets to make up an entire culture--a contained, realistic world--that abides by my own rules. I created a race of fantasy shapeshifting creatures, the drákon, who are dangerous and powerful and sexy and who happen to exist in Georgian England. So they do have to bend to certain restraints of their time, but it all rests purely upon the twists and turns of my imagination.

It’s a lot of fun.

It also means I get begrudgingly complimentary reviews from major news agencies, ones that would never ordinarily review a romance, so they put it under “Fantasy” instead. It’s a bit of literary snobbery, but I’ll take it. (Bonus points in a Fantasy review: you almost never run across that charming print equivalent of a sneer, “bodice-ripper”.)

I’m not good with boundaries. I don’t necessarily like other people’s conventions. My parents figured out pretty quickly when I was a child that the surest way to finagle me into doing something was to tell me that I couldn’t do it. It’s not that I’m stubborn...okay, yes, I’m stubborn. It’s more that I don’t like unreasonable limitations. I was that annoying kid who kept asking “why?” when adults tried explaining rules to me, until they usually ended up red-cheeked and sputtering “Because! Because! Because!” and giving me candy to go away.

So I write fantasy...because. Because it’s mind candy for the adult in me. I love romance, I love happy endings, but most of all, I love creating textured, interesting people who aren’t really people at all, and placing them in impossible situations to see what they do to get out of them. I’m nearly always surprised by what happens, believe me. Those are the best kinds of stories, I think.

So if you’re a daydreamer like me, someone with a hidden edge of rebellion sharpening your secret heart, you’ll know just what I mean when I say that I hope you’ll dream on. Dragons are real, and so is true love.

It’s the best of every world. :-)

Shana

http://www.shanaabe.com/

February = 3 parties by Michelle Styles

For romanctic novelists, February has been one whirl of parties. Or rather, there have been three marvellous parties for them to go to. I made one. All three though were glamourous and no one has reported on them here...so I will attempt to do a small recap as living vicariously is fun.

First up was the Romantic Novelists Association awards lunch on Monday 4 February. The winner of the Romantic Novel of the Year was Freya North for Pillow talk and the winner for the Betty Neels Rose Bowl (aka the Romance Prize) was Kate Hardy and her book Breakfast at Giovanni's (to be published in April in the US as In Bed with Her Italian Boss as part of the Promotional Presents programme). I was out on a walk when Kate texted me, but my dh says that I burst into tears. It is a lovely book with a lot of heart and a worthy winner. Kate has done a marvellous post on her blog about the day...you can read it here.

Next up on the 7th was the one party I did go to -- the Mills & Boon Centenary Celebration. The party could have easily stepped straight from the pages of a Presents novel. The venue, the Wallace Collection, is the former main townhouse of the Marquis of Hertford and displays its suberb collection of 18th century objects d'art...in other words, the sort of setting for a Regency novel.
The courtyard was bathed in pink, and as befits a birthday party, there were various stalls for cotton candy, ice cream and cupcakes with the M&B centenary logo. The bar boasted an array of different coloured drinks. Most of the authors has peach bellinis but I stuck to champagne. The room teemed with authors, agents, editors, public relations people, and journalists. At one point, they had all the authors on stage for a photocall. It was an impressive sight. Several authors were interviewed by the BBC for a proposed documentary. A tenor crooned while red roses were handed out to all the ladies. And UK television personality, Alan Titchmarsh gave a lovely welcome address.
There was a wonderful buzz about the party and all the guests left with a party bag.

The third party happened last Thursday om Manchester and was the culiminating event of the Manchester Library's year of Pure Passion. Penny Jordan has been tireless in her support of this, and gave a number of talks about romance. The party was held in the Neo Gothic Town Hall and by all accounts, it was a wonderful event with flowing champagne and glamourous dresses. Authors, editors. librarians and readers gathered to celebrate romantic fiction and find out the winner of the Pure Passion prize. Christina Jones won for her chick lit novel Love Potions. Annie Burrows has more on her website, including photos.

Because I know that people like to live vicariously, I have the little gold bookmark from my party bag, and a copy of the programme from Mills & Boon party to give away. The question I would like answered is in which year was Mills & Boon founded. Please email me with your answer with Totebags contest in the subject line. I will draw the winner on 1 March.

UPDATE: The first name out of the hat was Estella Kissell. I have sent a message, but I do need a postal address to send the bookmark and programme. Many thanks to all who entered.

Christina Dodd answers "Can't you make up your mind?"

I have published twenty-six full-length historicals, five (soon to be six) contemporary romantic suspenses, and two (soon to be four) paranormals, not to mention five stories for anthologies.

Occasionally I get a letter from one of my dedicated readers who want to know — Can’t you make up your mind?

Well, it’s this way.

Before I was published I wrote both contemporary and historical.

The first book I wrote (not published, but wrote) was a historical, probably 200,000 words long (my current books are 80,000 words – honey, I was writing GONE WITH THE WIND) set in … um, never mind. Anyway, it featured volcanoes and an earthquake and a smallpox epidemic and a Spanish landowning hero tortured by the inequities of the Colonial system. I wrote on that thing for six years, but that book taught me how to plot, put words together, express emotion, illustrate character growth. It was a great learning experience, but I could never sell that book mostly because it was set in … um, never mind.

After finishing that tome, I wrote a contemporary series book (about the size of a Silhouette Desire.) That took me six months. I could never sell that one, either.

I wrote my second historical (set in Medieval England, by God!), sent it to an agent who said she could sell it, and immediately started a contemporary because by then I’d been writing for ten years, wracked up enough rejection letters to paper my office, and believed publication would happen about the time it snowed in hell.

Apparently Satan was wearing an overcoat because the agent sold CANDLE IN THE WINDOW in two weeks (on Friday February 2, 1990 at 3:30pm, not that I marked the calendar or anything). While I was waiting for the contracts to come through, I finished the contemporary and sold LADY IN BLACK to Kismet, a short-lived but very profitable mail order publishing company. There are still copies of LADY IN BLACK floating around, and while it’s dated (it features a dot-matrix printer) some things are eternal – like the sex in the shower. Very steamy.

Then for years I concentrated on historicals. Still I read historicals and contemporaries, and when paranormals became popular, I read them, and I always intended to write more contemporaries. When I got the idea for the Lost Texas Hearts Series (JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE and CLOSE TO YOU), I knew I had the perfect vehicle, and my contemporary career was off and running. My current contemporary series is called the Fortune Hunters, and THIGH HIGH (March 2008) is the third book in that series.

So I was published in historicals and contemporaries. You’d think that was enough — and what happens?

While I watched FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, one of my favorite movies of all time, I analyzed why the story worked for me. (Analyzing stories is one of the things I do — it drives my kids crazy when we’re watching a film and I announce, “That was foreshadowing.” But what was I put on this earth for except to annoy my kids?) I love Tevye's dedication to his traditions, and the story is riveting as, slowly, everything he believed in is overturned by change. Everything, that is, except what mattered the most -- his family and the bedrock of his faith.

At the same time, I was analyzing why vampire romances worked so well. I decided a vampire is the ultimate alpha hero. When he mates with a woman, he can either give her the best sex of her life — or kill her. But a vampire has constraints — daylight, crosses and garlic can harm them, and a skilled hunter can stake them.

I daydreamed about heroes who were invincible … and at that moment, something happened. It's a little vague in my mind, but I remember a blinding flash of light, the two ideas meshed, and I had the concept for a four-book paranormal series featuring a family who immigrates from Russia and who just happens to be fearless, invincible shapeshifters.

I had to write Darkness Chosen. I was born to write Darkness Chosen.

Can’t I make up my mind? God, I hope not. I love the unpredictable process of creation, of discovering new worlds inside my brain and stumbling on new stories to write. I love exploring all the aspects of romance, all the ways a man and a woman fall in love, the bold kisses, the shy kisses, love-making in the forest, love-making on the beach, love-making (gasp!) in bed. Romance is amazing in its variety, and it’s the variety that keeps me writing (and reading.)

What about you? How many years have you been reading romance? What kind of romance do you read? Do you read more than one kind of romance? The kind of books that sell in big numbers has changed; have you changed your romance reading habits along with the market?

Christina
http://www.christinadodd.com/
Visit Christina's website for excerpts and book videos!

Christina's upcoming release is scheduled to hit shelves on March 4, 2008. THIGH HIGH is book three in her highly acclaimed Fortune Hunter series!

Music & Lyrics (sort of)

Like many authors, I write to music. I know some writers who blare Beethoven or Bach when they write, and others who can’t work unless AC/DC is screaming through the speakers. Me, I’m a country girl, and more often than not I tend to latch on to one particular CD or artist for the duration of the book I’m writing at the moment.

For instance, when I wrote Charming Jo, nothing else worked for me but Toby Keith, and the louder the better.

Other times I’ve written to Martina McBride – who epitomizes the strength of a woman – or my new favourite, fellow Canadian George Canyon who does an amazing job on the classics I grew up on (that man can sing Waylon and Willie like nobody’s business!)

But this last year I’ve spent writing two books dealing with the devil’s offspring. THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER, due out April 1st, and the sequel, DANCING WITH THE DEVIL, due out in December. These are not dark books by any means, but I did need something to get me into the characters’ frames of mind, so who did I turn to?

Who could possibly sing about Hell in such a way that I could sing along without being distracted by the songs themselves (This, by the way is key to the whole thing. Music needs to be playing, and I need to be able to sing along, but in an unconscious kind of way).

Enter Meatloaf and his 1977 album Bat Out of Hell.

I know what you’re thinking. Meatloaf? Good Lord! I know, but 30 years later, this album still gets the job done. The songs are 8 minutes long for goodness sake, so there’s no distraction of the songs ending every three minutes, and the lead song is the title track. I have listened to that CD so many times I could probably sing it backwards in my sleep. Don’t worry, I won’t. I wouldn’t want to scare anyone.

The next book will be someone completely different. For all I know, I could end up writing my next book to the soundtrack of Barry Manilow’s Copacabana or Cher’s Greatest Hits. I just never know what it’ll be.

I can honestly say though, without a doubt, that AC/DC will never be the artist of choice for anything I write. Beethoven, maybe, but that’s about as far as I’m willing to step outside my comfort zone. What about you?

Welcome to GuyWorld - Anne Gracie

I recently went to a movie with a bunch of girlfriends, some of whom I hadn't seen in forever. After the movie we went back to someone's place for drinks and sat talking movies and books and TV and life.

I discovered that three or four of us regularly watch an English TV show called Top Gear. It's about cars, more or less. English and European cars, mostly. We were chatting enthusiastically about favorite segments and half the group stared at us as if we'd suddenly morphed into aliens.

The conversation went like this:

"I'd never watch that show -- it's all about cars. I have no interest in cars."
"Me too. My husband and son never miss it so I use the time to catch up on housework."
Three women said, more or less simultaneously -- "We don't watch it for the cars." "Oh, so these three guys are really hot, right?"
"No, they're not hot at all."
"Huh? So why?"

We explained. A big part of the fascination of the program for women lies in the glimpse we get into guy-world. It's really all about boys and their toys and the way they're so competitive with each other - about the fastest, the most powerful, the best. They don't hold back, either.

And the interaction between the guys is funny and entertaining. They're always coming up with crazy (and often dangerous) challenges. One time one of the guys raced the other two from a town in England to a Swiss village -- one driving his car flat out, night and day, the others going by planes, trains and buses. The car won by a nose.

The discussion got me thinking. Last year, after a lifetime of avoiding vampire books (apart from the Bram Stoker original) I glommed the J.R. Ward vampire books. I didn't just glom, I read the first book and I started the second book that same night, then got up in the morning and finished it. Then I jumped in the car and raced to my bookshop to get books #3 and #4 of the series before the shop closed for the weekend. It's been a while since that happened to me.

And it occurred to me that a big part of the appeal for me of J.R. Ward's vampire world is the glimpse we get of the close community of guys and the way they interact. She's not the only author who does this well. Often a series is linked by a group of guys related in some way: by blood, or by experience. For instance in my new series the heroes are all guys who've been to war together, which makes for powerful bonds.

So what do you think is the appeal of peeking into guy-world? And what books or authors do you think do it really well?

Anne

Author Trivia - by Renee DeLuca

Hi Everyone, my name is Renee. Lee had a computer meltdown over the weekend and has been battling issues with technical support since then. She hopes to be back to do the contest updates soon on her site.

Meanwhile, she asked me to take care of the Author Trivia this month so here are the clues -

This author -

* lives in Vancouver, Canada

* works with disabled people

*had her first novel released in February 2008 from a really well-known print publisher

* has been published with Woman's World Magazine, among others

* Jennifer Crusie called her "one of the best new voices in women's lit".

* she's doing yet another booksigning at Borders in Traverse City on Feb. 20th (tomorrow!)

* her heroine poses as a psychic to get her guy back!

Can you guess the author and the title of her new release?

Lee will pick 4 winners at the end of this month and each will receive a copy of this book.

Please don't post your answers here. Instead, email them to totebag@authorsoundrelations.com and be sure to put 'Author Trivia' in the subject heading. Also please include your full name and mailing address to help expedite the prize to you in case you win.

Thanks - and good luck!

ANSWER: Eileen Cook - UNPREDICTABLE

Life Is Short

Many of you know I was involved in a bad car accident last month. It came as close to being an early end of me as I ever want to go. So along with the pain pills and the insurance hasseles, I've found myself rethinking my entire life. I suddenly want everything instantly. Don't put off doing anything pleasurable until tomorrow. Eat dessert first. Play today, work tomorrow and put off the rest entirely.

That's a huge change in my attitude. I grew up believing the 'ant' was the good guy in the story and the 'grasshopper' was the fool. Nice and steady wins the race. Blah! Not for me. Not anymore.

I was thinking of this change in my philosophy a few days ago during a discussion on one of my author loops. this private loop is for a group of Harlequin authors, and the discussion focused on how terrible it was that Harlequin has reduced their word counts across all of their lines. Long-time series authors bemoaned the loss of an extra twenty to thirty thousand words in which to tell their stories. They loved the old way when they had time to explore emotions, add in more points of view, include more bad guys, and generally take their time to wind through their stories.

I have to say, as a reader, I loved some of those old Harlequins too. Back when I had leisure time, I enjoyed picking up a book that took hours to read and kept me entertained and interested into the wee hours or for days. But sorry, authors, things have changed---in my life as well as in the world. Today when I pick up a Harlequin book, it's because I want a quick get-away with a guaranteed happy ending. I want to be able to finish it in one sitting. I want it fast, exciting, emotionally satisfying---and over.

The best selling Harlequins right now in the U.S. are the Presents line. That's always been the shortest Harlequin line available. Does that tell you something about what most readers want? For myself, I love reading a good Presents. I just finished both Anne McAllister's ONE NIGHT LOVE CHILD, a January Presents, and Katherine Garbera's THE WEALTHY FRENCHMAN'S PROPOSITION, a Silhouette Desire (which is another short line.) Both were wonderful books. And fast.

If I want or have time for more, say on a long plane ride or a vacation on the beach, I'll read one of the amazing variety of single title books available either in the bookstore or via e-books. By the way, many of these so-called single title books have also been shortened. Whereas a good best seller used to be in the one-hundred thousand word category, now many of them don't even make it to ninety thousand words. Minimum word count used to be ninety, today it's eighty or even seventy. Thanks due in part, I'm sure, to authors like Dan Brown, James Patterson, and Steven King who are masters at quick and exciting reads.

At one time I imagined all this focus on brevity was due to the price of paper. But today I'm sure that isn't even a factor. Not with all the e-books out there. Now that I've changed my opinion about life in general, I know better. It's the pace of our lives. Time is our single most expensive commodity.

As an author, I've never had any trouble writing short. It makes me work at finding just the right pace--just the right word. It's harder, yes. But it also makes me a better writer. I'm enjoying finding new ways of putting a little mystery/adventure, a couple of points of view, and a bad guy or two in with my sexy little romances. Writing a fast read is exactly what I need in my my life right now.

As a reader, I'm thrilled that all the lines are going shorter. I have always wanted a good thriller, mystery, paranormal, erotica, or family romance (depending on my mood) that I could read in a couple of hours and then go on with my life.

How do you feel about the shorter books? If you're a writer, do you find shorter is harder -- or maybe impossible? If you're a reader, have you given up reading Harlequins because they've gotten shorter? Or are you fining yourself picking them up again after falling away exactly because they are now easier to finish in the time you have?

Leave me a comment and I'll pick one winner from all the comments left before Tuesday February 19th to win a new Presents (my choice) or one of my backlist (your choice)

Linda's newest (shorter) Silhouette Romantic Suspense series, The Safekeepers, begins in June with SAFE WITH A STRANGER. Don't forget to drop by Linda's newly designed website to find out more about her series, check out her new extras, and register to enter her ongoing contest to win books, chocolates, and gift certificates! http://www.LindaConrad.com

The Neurosis of Writing

Here's the classic chicken vs egg question when it comes to writers: Do neurotics become writers, or does writing make one neurotic?

My editor called me the other day to ask if I could get my current manuscript in 4 weeks early so she could fit it in the November 2008 schedule. Of course, being a new author, I respond with a resounding "Yes!" even though I'd been dragging my heels on this book, feeling as though it was wrong in every way possible and having no idea how to fix it. In fact, the only thing that was letting me sleep at night was the idea the book wasn't on the schedule yet and I could ask for an extension if I needed it.

So much for that plan.

But ironically, that ended up being the good part of the conversation. Because somewhere as we were nailing down exact dates, she pays me a wonderful compliment by stating I could get this book in at the last minute, because my last one came in so clean she wasn't concerned about revisions. Most authors would be standing on a cloud right about now. But me? Noooooooo. I reply, "Yeah, but the problem is I don't have the confidence in this book that I did with the last, so I should really get this in early so we've got time to revise."

Could someone please tell me, why, why, why, why, WHY??? was I posessed to tell my editor this? Especially since the moment I got off the phone, I realized I needed to get serious about the book, sat down, wrote a more solid outline, found an ending that turns what I've written so far into gold, and the words have been rolling off my fingers ever since?? In fact, now that I've looked it over, I'm thinking it could be my best Blaze yet.

My CPs response is that I'm a writer, therefore I'm neurotic, and not to worry, because my editor deals with neurotic writers every day and probably didn't even bat an eyelash. I'm wondering how I can go from feeling completely insecure about a book, then loving it the minute I confess to my editor that the whole thing sucks.

Prescriptions, anyone?

So let me ask this. What do you think came first, the writing or the neurotic? And if you are a neurotic writer, do you have any stories to tell that would make me feel I'm not the only one?

Lori Borrill's next Harlequin Blaze, "Putting It To The Test" is an April, 2008 release, and she promises it most definitely does not suck! Of course, she's neurotic, so you should probably buy the book and see for yourself.

What women really want…anytime

I like Valentine's Day. After all, I am a romance writer. It's sweet and romantic, and everyone should have a Valentine to love.

My only issue is that all that sentiment becomes a requirement, an $80-for-a- dozen-roses mandate. And therein lies my problem with Valentine's Day.

Roses are nice, but to me, $80 for roses isn't worth it. And when I thought about it, I finally figured out why: Anyone can buy roses. But not everyone knows what I really want.

So here's my top five list of the perfect romantic gifts...for me:

1. A manicure-pedicure appointment.

Every woman out there is nodding her head right now. Take note, boys.
Pros: One to two hours being pampered in peace and quiet, lasts for a week and I can take my gift anywhere.
Cons: No wine involved.

2. A clean house.

A collective sigh just went up. Most men do not understand the power of a clean house.
Pros: It's free and anyone can do it.
Cons: My hygiene standards have to be lowered. And there's no wine.

3. Chocolate.

This one is just too easy, I know.

Pros: Lasts a long time, available anywhere, and can be easily hid in my office drawer.
Cons: Calories, which I say I don't want but for chocolate, I'll do it. And no wine.

4. Forethought, i.e. surprise.

Contrary to popular belief, we women are not hard creatures to please. Just burn actual brain cells to find the perfect surprise. It doesn't have to be big, but it does have to be for me and me alone.
Pros: It's a surprise which was executed without my help or direction, and required forethought and follow-through on my sweetheart's part. For that, I love you.
Cons: Can't think of any except there's a good possibility of no wine.

5. Wine.

Good wine with a cork and everything. Impress me.
Pros: It's makes me happy, and it's good for my heart and cholesterol which means I'll live longer. And yes, I do think about that.
Cons: I may just have to share the bottle with that someone special. Oh well. That's what romance is all about.

Those work for me, and I'm very lucky that my hubby knows them too.

After all, romance isn't about what works for everyone. Romance is about what works for that special someone.

Happy romancing...all year long,

Samantha Graves

You can visit Samantha Graves at her website, MySpace or weekly Will Write for Wine podcast with co-host & fellow author, Lani Diane Rich.