Romance Novel Sluts

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Thanks, Sarah, for having me here today! Since this site is all about a love of romance novels, I thought I’d share a few of the books that led me to write my own.

As a teenager, I read a phenomenal amount of books. I devoured the entire school library, and most of the public one. Every birthday and Christmas was easy for my relatives – books, or book tokens, every time.

My usual fare was fantasy novels, and historical stories, with the occasional murder mystery thrown in. But considering my consumption rate, it took me a long time to figure out what the common thread was between my favourites.

Romance. As much as I loved the world building, the fighting, the details and the clues, what I wanted most was more of the love story.

The first book I read more for the romance than the history was M M Kaye’s The Far Pavilions. The copy I found on my parent’s bookshelf had an embracing couple on the front, which earned my some good natured ribbing from my Chemistry teacher when, as usual, I started reading as soon as I’d finished my work.

It didn’t matter, though – I was hooked. My Grandmother was born in India, and had a vast collection of novels set there. I borrowed Kaye’s second India novel, The Shadow of the Moon, and fell even deeper in love.

Fast forward seven or so years. I’d just graduated from university, and was planning a lengthy trip abroad – to Abu Dhabi, where I was born, Singapore, then on to Australia to visit relatives and explore on my own, too. Kindles had yet to be invented, and I knew I’d want to buy books there, so I had to choose which ones to take with me very carefully.

I can’t remember which other books I took, but I know I made one superb choice – Jenny Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation. Right there, in those pages, devoured on planes and in lonely hotel rooms, I found the type of community story I wanted to write. The people and the romance and the sensuality and the happy endings.

While I was in Australia, I picked up as many other Crusie books – along with some reissued M M Kaye romantic murder mysteries, actually – as I could fit in my suitcase. I left clothes and souvenirs with my relatives to post back to me, just to make more room for stories.

It was after that trip that I started writing seriously. It was slow progress – I got a demanding full time job, fell in love, got married, had a child. I got close several times, as far as finding an agent and having a book out with editors. But it wasn’t until I was on maternity leave with my daughter that I finally wrote the kind of books I’d been dreaming of – the two books (so far!) in my Love from Wales series, Room for Love and An A to Z of Love – books that finally sold to Lyrical Press, and are coming out this summer.

And now? Next I’m looking to more category romance, and feeling very inspired by India Grey’s Craving the Forbidden…

Get Sophie’s Room for Love at: Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones

A lot has changed since I published my first novel in the fall of 2006. Between 2006 and 2008, I had four stories of various lengths published with The Wild Rose Press. I had a great experience with them, and I believe three stories are still available.

At that time, it seemed very important to me to be able to hold a printed book in my hands. They made my dream a reality, releasing in both print and e-formats. In late 2008, I met the Man of My Dreams, and life upheaval ensued. I married, moved,
became a bonus mom, started a new job and my hubster was deployed to Iraq. In the midst of keeping my head above water, I stepped away from the publishing world at that time, even though I was still writing.

When I returned to the publishing arena early last year, beloved and completed manuscript in hand, I had to pause and reassess the industry. E-books had taken over the world, it seemed, and even at the college where I work, they became mainstream in the form of textbooks. News reported mass bookstore closings and blind fervor over the Kindle Fire. It didn’t take long to see that this was the direction publishing was moving.

I admit to being behind the times. I didn’t even have a smart phone, much less an e-reader. But when I got my iPhone, I immediately downloaded Kindle and Nook to see what all the fuss was all about. And I started reading again. A lot. To put it simply, the technology has allowed me to read like I used to read when I had time!

I downloaded classic favorites like The Scarlet Letter and Wuthering Heights. New books from new authors, and back catalogs from authors I both knew and loved. One of my first downloads was Interview with the Vampire, by Ann Rice. I read this book
over and over, always amazed that I find something different to take away each time. Now I could carry my all titles with me where ever I went! No more frustrating visits to the doctor or dentist, waiting to be called back. Delays only meant more time to read!
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So, when looking for a publisher to help me re-enter the market last year, print books (while still warming the cockles of my heart) were not a requirement. I wanted somebody who could produce quality e-books and sell them. The market seemed
crowded with newbies, and many of the established names were still around, but in different forms. All that being said, I’m glad I found a home for Surrender to the Roman at Carina Press—a site I had often downloaded from, and am now proud to represent.

Surrender to the Roman

As the Romans storm the last stronghold of Dacia, Princess Ademeni awaits her fate. Taken as a slave, she is deposited into General Marcus Cordovis’s home as a gift.

Driven to avenge her family, Ademeni plots to kill her captor and escape. Though not the cruel victor she expects, Marcus keeps her too close to make escape easy–so close that Ademeni is soon tormented by an unbidden, traitorous attraction. In a moment of weakness, a passionate kiss almost undoes them both.

But the handsome, widowed general has another surprise for Ademeni: a young daughter. Marcus dares ask Ademeni to help him bridge the gap between him and his little girl. And now, Ademeni is growing too fond of those she is supposed to despise.
As Marcus prepares for the triumphal march and the opening of the gladiatorial games–where captives of her homeland will be sacrificed–Ademeni readies for her own battle between revenge and love.

You can find me on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author.MK.Chester
Twitter: https://twitter.com/M_K_Chester
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/mkchester
Website: www.mkchester.com

You can find Surrender to the Roman on:

Carina Press: www.carinapress.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070Y3URE
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/surrender-to-the-roman-mk-chester/1108374896

Ride with Me, available from Loveswept on February 13, 2012!

I like romance novels a lot, but I really love weird romance novels.

Recently, I was reading Carla Kelly’s Beau Crusoe, which is a historical romance whose hero spent five years stranded on an island in the South Pacific. When I was a few chapters in, I mentioned on Twitter how much I was enjoying the novel, and how much I was hoping that the hero had eaten people.

Someone tweeted back, like, Seriously? That’s weird. Why would you want a cannibal hero? And I was like, Wouldn’t everybody? The weirder, the better. Bring it on! Because I enjoy historical romances where the hero is deeply wounded and outcast among the ton because he’s a merchant or a bastard or has a scandalous past, but a hero who’s an outcast because he ATE PEOPLE — what could be more interesting than that?*

This makes me a little bit weird, I know. I’m okay with it.

But it’s not just weirdness at work here. I love romance novels that play with the genre’s conventions, pushing one boundary or another, letting in a bit more of the wonkiness that’s part of real life. Romance is a genre about fantasy — particularly female fantasy — and I respect that. I want my hit of escapism, too, whether I’m reading it or writing it. At the same time, though, I like people’s weirdness, and I love romance novels that let some of the weird in.**

Courtney Milan’s Unraveled has a hero, Smite, who can’t stand to be touched on the face. Close spaces and the sound of water make him vomit. But he’s brave and principled and steadfast, and he’s quite sexy, and I adored him.

The heroine of Meg Maguire’s Headstrong is obnoxious, flighty, irresponsible, and manipulative. She’s also brilliant, interesting, and ultimately lovable. Though it takes a while to warm up to her, she’s worth it.

I think the wonky heroes and heroines are a bit harder to find in contemporary romance, because we hold contemporary characters to our own personal, modern-day standards of behavior. We want heroines who we can imagine being best friends with, or who we’d want to be, even. We want heroes who we can imagine admiring, loving, spending our lives with. But at the same time, we want characters who feel like people–and people aren’t perfect. People are so very far from perfect, it’s not even funny.

So, as a novelist, I try to strike a balance, to walk the fine line between escapism and realism. I let my novels, my characters, be a teensy bit wonky, but not so much that it’s off-putting.

And secretly, quietly, I hope one day I’ll get so famous, my editor will let me write a cannibal.

*P.S. The hero of Beau Crusoe did, in fact, eat people. And he feels terrible about it. Beau Crusoe is an amazing book, one of the best historicals I’ve read in a long time, and I highly, highly recommend it.

**P.P.S. If you like wonk in your romance novels, too, check out Wonkomance.com, where six other romance novelists and I celebrate the strange and off-kilter in the romance genre.

More information about her book!

In this fun, scorching-hot eBook original romance by Ruthie Knox, a cross-country bike adventure takes a detour into unexplored passion. As readers will discover, Ride with Me is not about the bike!

When Lexie Marshall places an ad for a cycling companion, she hopes to find someone friendly and fun to cross the TransAmerica Trail with. Instead, she gets Tom Geiger — a lean, sexy loner whose bad attitude threatens to spoil the adventure she’s spent years planning.

Roped into the cycling equivalent of a blind date by his sister, Tom doesn’t want to ride with a chatty, go-by-the-map kind of woman, and he certainly doesn’t want to want her. Too bad the sight of Lexie with a bike between her thighs really turns his crank.

Even Tom’s stubborn determination to keep Lexie at a distance can’t stop a kiss from leading to endless nights of hotter-than-hot sex. But when the wild ride ends, where will they go next?

Ruthie Knox figured out how to walk and read at the same time in the second grade, and she hasn’t looked up since. She spent her formative years hiding romance novels in her bedroom closet to avoid the merciless teasing of her brothers and imagining scenarios in which someone who looked remarkably like Daniel Day Lewis recognized her well-hidden sex appeal and rescued her from middle-class Midwestern obscurity. After graduating from Grinnell College with an English and history double major, she earned a Ph.D. in modern British history that she’s put to remarkably little use.

These days, she writes contemporary romance in which witty, down-to- earth characters find each other irresistible in their pajamas, though she freely admits this has yet to happen to her. Perhaps she needs more exciting pajamas. Ruthie abhors an epilogue and insists a decent romance requires at least three good sex scenes.

ruthieknox.com

GIVEAWAY

How about you — do you like a little dash of weird in your romance? What’s the strangest romance novel you’ve ever read? One lucky commenter will be randomly chosen to win a digital copy of Ride with Me. Winners will pick up their copy through Net Galley. Good luck to all!  (Winner will be drawn on March 7th.)

Thank you, Sarah, for hosting me on Romance Sluts today. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about The Kure, and to let your readers know about my “Resolve To Read” promotion going on right now through Amazon.

First and foremost, The Kure is a love story, with the relationship between the main characters—John Tyler and Sarah Sheridan—an unexpected but welcome development. Yet, in many ways, revealing their evolving romance was one of my biggest challenges—to portray the undeniable attraction between them while they struggled with overwhelming obstacles that made a continuing relationship seem impossible. Without suggesting the certainty of their union, I introduced the idea slowly, letting it surprise the characters as well as the reader.

From their first encounter, the underlying chemistry between John and Sarah is obvious. And although John is driven by supernatural forces to meet Sarah, he finds himself unable to continue his deception, and abandons his pursuit of determining her willingness to submit to the depraved requirements of the Kure’s healing ritual.

In the following excerpt, John has reluctantly accepted his fate—a brutal leeching at the hands of the village doctor. But Sarah has realized the doctor’s treatment could leave John scarred and impotent, and she tries to convince him to consider another alternative—a supernatural spell taken from the same unholy book that would have condemned her to the fate of a sacrificial virgin.

Excerpt:

The sun was unusually warm for late fall, and although the temperature was not uncomfortable, Sarah had taken advantage of the shade. Sitting back against the trunk of a large oak, she stretched out her legs on a blanket of autumn foliage.

“There’s plenty of time,” she called out as she loosened her braided hair. “We can still make it to the doctor’s office by mid-afternoon.”

John nodded he understood.

Carefully holding the thin, deteriorating sheet by the edges, he leaned back against the wagon and lifted his arms toward the midday sun, hoping the intense light would make the words easier to read.

He had done it for Sarah, because she seemed so sure, so certain. And because disagreeing with her—telling her no—hurt him almost as much as the disease.

“If there’s a chance it will work, we need to consider it,” she had pleaded. Then glancing away, she paused, agonizing over what she had to say next. “I’m afraid if the doctor uses his leeches, you might not be the same. You might not be able to—” She had stopped, unable to finish.

Sarah’s confession had gone beyond simple caring and kindness. John now understood it wasn’t fair to exclude her from determining the best way to treat his illness. If he continued to insist on making decisions alone, and his choices were wrong, they would both suffer the consequences.

He was also beginning to doubt his chances of surviving the bloodletting intact. The area of greatest damage would have to support the bulk of the distending leeches. And after seeing how rapidly the infection had progressed, he was convinced the additional punctures—and weight—would tear his weakened skin, increasing the probability of disfigurement or even detachment.

Yet his decision to read the remaining part of the ritual had not been made easily. Before taking the page from Sarah’s hands, he had made a silent, sacred promise: If any part of what he read might be threatening to Sarah, if its use would require her to compromise her body or soul, he would immediately destroy the foul writings and regardless of the outcome, resume his ride to the doctor’s office to begin the painful blood-purge.

His eyes stinging from the bright sun, he lowered his arms and glanced back at Sarah. She seemed peacefully centered and unhurried in nature’s surroundings. Noticing John’s attention, she playfully scissored her legs through the leaves, inviting him to join her. Her encouragement was tempting, but fearing the wrenching contractions that would tear through his gut if he attempted to move to the ground, he offered her a weak smile, hoping she would understand.

“Do you realize what has to happen to make this work?” John rustled the page for emphasis.

Sarah started to speak, and then stopped, sensing that John didn’t want an answer. She raised her hands in deliberate interest, inviting him to work through his own doubts without argument.

“And some of the letters are so faded, I had to fill in as best I could,” he added.

Sarah picked up a large golden-hued leaf and twirled it in her fingers. “Maybe you should read it out loud.”

“You think it would help?”

She nodded and smiled, her blonde hair shimmering against the brown tree bark as she eased back into a cradle of surface roots.

“All right,” he said. “I’ll read it, and then you can tell me what you think it means.”

John stepped back into one of the irregular circles of light breaking through the canopy and angled the paper until it caught the sun. Before reading the ancient script, he mumbled under his breath, and although he didn’t mean for Sarah to hear it, she looked up at him with sudden concern. She nodded slowly, and John realized she had momentarily bowed her head, his words having drifted across the knoll to find her: “God forgive me.”

He swallowed hard and began to read from the timeworn page.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

John Tyler, a young man in his early twenties, awakens to find a ghastly affliction taking over his body. When the village doctor offers the conventional, and potentially disfiguring, treatment as the only cure, John tenaciously convinces the doctor to reveal an alternative remedy—a forbidden ritual contained within an ancient manuscript called the Kure.

Although initially rejecting the vile and sinister rite, John realizes, too late, that the ritual is more than a faded promise scrawled on a page of crumbling paper. And as cure quickly becomes curse, the demonic text unleashes a dark power that drives him to consider the unthinkable—a depraved and wicked act requiring the corruption of an innocent soul.

Ultimately, John must choose between his desperate need to arrest the plague that is destroying his body, and the virtue of the woman he loves, knowing the wrong decision could cost him his life.

For a limited time, read “The Kure” for only $.99

(Kindle version)
(Nook version)

One of my resolutions for 2012 was to read more new authors – especially those whose books normally fall outside my favorite genres. As I began to search reviewer’s blogs for some ideas, I realized how many more people were reading books of all kinds, primarily due to increased availability and choice of low-cost ebooks for the kindle and nook. I often saw comments from readers who had decided to read a particular author’s work because it was ninety-nine cents, or in some cases, free. Realizing a lower price would motivate more people to read The Kure, I decided to temporarily lower the price. I’m calling it “Resolve To Read”, and it’s going on right now. The kindle version of The Kure can be purchased for ninety-nine cents on Amazon. So if you were planning on buying a kindle version anyway, why not take advantage of the “Resolve To Read” promotion and save two bucks?

About Jaye:

Jaye Frances is the author of the new paranormal/occult romance The Kure, the first book in The Kure series. She is also a featured columnist for the NUSA SUN magazine. Jaye was born in the Midwest and grew up surrounded by traditional values and conservative attitudes (which she quickly discarded). She readily admits that her life’s destination has been the result of an open mind and a curiosity about all things irreverent. When she’s not consumed by her writing, Jaye enjoys cooking, traveling to all places tropical and “beachy” and taking pictures—lots of pictures—many of which find their way to her website. Jaye lives on the central gulf coast of Florida, sharing her home with one husband, six computers, four cameras, and several hundred pairs of shoes.
http://blog.jayefrances.com
Jaye on Facebook
Jaye on Goodreads

Jaye will be giving away a kindle copy of The Kure. Comment here to win. Winner will be drawn on the 29th of February.

I really need to stay off of Amazon.com. It is like a drug. I do random searches. I mean really random ones. My brain’s train of thought tends to derail… a lot. But I do search even thought part of me knows the answer to them.

Which brought me to Lucy Hatch this week. I know there are only four Lucy Hatch books. I know there will only every be four. All four sit up on my shelf. There are days that part of me gets called back to that little town in east Texas. Just something about Marsha Moyer‘s writing and Lucy’s story just touched me.

The books:

The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch
The Last of the Honky Tonk Angels
Heartbreak Town
The Return of the Stardust Cowgirl

The series centers around a recently widowed Lucy Hatch, her love interest Ash Farrell, and later his daughter Denny, among the colorful cast of Mooney, Texas and Lucy’s family.

Teresa Medeiros did a fabulous review of the first book.  Yes, that Teresa Medeiros.

Maybe it’s the feeling I have associated with Lucy Hatch.  For some reason I have been heavily medicated when I read them.  Usually sick in bed, so that I feel the not fast paced life of Mooney, TX, where everyone knows everyone.  Everyone knows everyone’s business.  The laid back life.  The slow life.  Where ever single change is noted, especially when Ash begins to pursue Lucy.

I don’t know if I could live in a small town like that,  just nice to visit in the pages of a novel.

As enthusiastic that I would like to be for everyone to rush out and gets these books…   The Last of the Honky Tonk Angels is no longer available in print.   The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch is not available in e-book format.    Heartbreak Town and  The Return of the Stardust Cowgirl are still available in print and e-book.  So… please… petition to bring book 1 and 2 to e-book.

How?  Go to the page at Amazon or BN – and there is a link to request it from the publisher.

Request for Kindle	Request For Kindle	Heartbreak Town for Kindle	Return of the Star- dust Cowgirl for Kindle
Request for Nook	Request For Nook	Heartbreak Town for Nook	Return of the Star- dust Cowgirl for Nook

Good morning!

Well, the countdown to the National Conference for the Romance Writers of America is in full swing for me. I love going to the conference for a lot of reasons. Catching up with friends I haven’t seen in a while is always a high point for me. I also get to spend time with my wonderful agent and editors, something I look forward to every year.

But this year is especially exciting for me. For the first time one of my books is a finalist in the RITA competition. For those of you who might not be familiar with the RITAs, it’s the most prestigious award a book in the romance genre can receive. I can’t tell you how honored I am to have my name and book, DARKNESS UNKNOWN, included in the list of finalists.

DARKNESS UNKNOWN is the fifth book in my Paladin series. The hero, Jarvis Donahue, first appeared in the second book in the series, DARK DEFENDER. He was supposed to be one of those characters who briefly appears for a specific purpose and then fades into the background. Jarvis had other ideas on the subject. He planted his feet in the middle of story and refused to disappear. I knew then that he wouldn’t be happy until he had his own book.

That didn’t mean I’d make it easy for him. The heroine meets him when she finds him mostly dead in the creek in the woods at the back edge of her farm. She recognizes his ability to heal quickly because her younger brother has the same talent. Jarvis ends up caught between his attraction to Gwen and his duty to introduce her younger brother to the world of the Paladins. Gwen has her own problems. She realizes on that there is far more to Jarvis than the handsome, charming man he appears to be on the surface. She isn’t sure that she can handle the warrior he truly is.

He questions everything.

No one thought Chief Talion Greyhill Danby would report to work so soon after wrapping up his affairs in London. Then again, he didn’t expect to find a beautiful spy with a major attitude in his new office. Clearly the Kyth’s Grand Dame doesn’t trust him to do his duty—to protect her.

She fears the truth.

Piper Ryan isn’t keen on the arrangement either. Matching wits with an ancient warrior isn’t in her administrative job description. But sharing space with the red-hot head of security could have unexpectedly tempting benefits . . . if he doesn’t dig into her secret past.

Opposites always attract.

When a mysterious e-mails result in danger, the fiery sparks between Piper and Grey grow scorching hot. They must defend the throne from a deadly invisible attacker, but will their raging desire keep them together . . . or will their burning suspicions tear them apart?

The winners for the RITA competition will be announced the evening of July 31st on the final night of the conference. Picture the Oscars, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what the night is like. Lots of glitz and pizzazz, it’s the highlight of the conference. And whether I win or not, I’m just thrilled to get to be part of the celebration.

Alexis Morgan grew up near St. Louis and received a B.A. in English from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She and her husband have made the Pacific Northwest their home for more than thirty years, where she launched her career as a writer. She is published in contemporary romance, American West historicals, and currently writes paranormal romances for Pocket Star and Silhouette Nocturne. Her book, Darkness Unknown, is a finalist in the RITA’s, the top award in the romance genre.  Her next book, Dark Warrior Untamed, will be out next week!

Hi everyone… Wish we were doing this in person.  It’s so much fun for a writer to talk to other writers or readers.  Funny thing about being a writer.  The laptop doesn’t talk back which makes it a very solitary occupation.  Thus my love of talking when I get the chance.

So here’s the scoop on me.  I think I’ve loved romance from the start and just didn’t know it.  My first favorite author ever was Zane Grey.  OMG.  Picture an eight year old girl reading about heroes larger than life who are willing to die for the brand and for their girl.  I was hooked from the start.  I went from those to all of the Edgar Rice Burroughs stories (Tarzan).  I know, I know… but he was a nearly nude male who could swing from the trees and save people.  What’s not to love about that?

I went from those to the stories of Emilie Loring and Grace Livingstone Hill.  Those were all romances of the sweetest kind.  The most hot stuff going on in those books was a kiss at the end, but I had yet to reach twelve and was happy with that.  In later years, I became a huge Louis L’amour fan.  Read all of his stories.  I think my all-time favorite was actually one of the few he wrote that wasn’t a historical western.  It was called LAST OF THE BREED, about a Native American fighter pilot who crash lands on the coast of Russia, just across the water from the Alaskan shore.  It was about how he called on his knowledge of his warrior past to survive in the cold and snow and how he hid from the Russians until he could be saved.  I bought it for my son for a stocking stuffer one Christmas, (he was a huge LL fan, too) and then I sat up and read the whole thing before I could put it in his stocking and go to bed.  Call me obsessive, but I got my hero fix big-time with that one.

I mention all this because, if you know my work and the men I write about in my stories, you might recognize the same type.  I still love the men who are tough and strong, but not afraid to cry.  I love the men who honor their women, but never expect them to walk that step behind.  Instead, their women walk beside them, with their heads high, knowing they are cherished.  GREAT BIG SIGH.

So I have a trilogy out right now with heroes like this.  The first book in the Storm Front trilogy is called BLOWN AWAY.  It came out in June.  The second book is TORN APART.  It’s just out – a July release.  The last will be out in August.  It’s called SWEPT ASIDE.  It’s about what happens to three different families/people when a hurricane-spawned tornado hits their sleepy little Louisiana town.

The first “real” romance I read that made me want to write them was Danielle Steele’s PALOMINO.  I still love that story.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of the J.D ROBB books, as well.  Eve Dallas is my kind of woman.

There are so many wonderful writers and like everyone I know, I have a huge TBR pile, as well.  It sort of comforting to me…like my security blanket…to know that when all else fails, I still have those to fall back on.

The novel I’m working on now is called BLOOD STAINS.  It will be the first book in a trilogy I’m doing that will be out next year.  I’m actually about finished with it.  Just doing a little editing/cleaning up on it.  July 3rd is my birthday.  I’m planning on writing THE END on that novel on the 3rd as my birthday present to myself.

Hope you all have a safe and happy summer.

Happy reading and always…always…remember the romance.

-Sharon Sala

Sharon Sala is a long-time member of RWA, as well as a member of OKRWA. She has 80 plus books in print, written as Sharon Sala and Dinah McCall. First published in 1991, she’s a seven-time RITA finalist, winner of the Janet Dailey Award, four-time Career Achievement winner from RT Magazine, National Reader’s Choice Award, and Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence winners five times each. Her books are New York Times , USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, WaldenBooks mass market best-sellers. Writing changed her life, her world, and her fate.

So, obviously I like to read romance. Well, I like to read everything. But since right now I’m writing romance, it’s only fair to wonder what my favorite romance books have been, or at least the ones that put me on my path.

First of all, I should make a confession. I never read The Flame and the Flower. In fact, I’ve never read Kathleen Woodiwiss at all. It wasn’t a matter of distaste or prejudice. I was just a mystery reader back then. In fact, it wasn’t until 1981 that I read my first modern romance. My friend Katie Wilson, who worked with me in the ER, kept trying to get me to read romance. Finally, just to shut her up, I accepted a grocery bag full and said I’d try it. And that bag changed my life.

Still no Woodiwiss. Not even Rosemary Rogers or Karen Robards. Instead the bag held books by Nora Roberts, Jayne Krentz, Rebecca Brandywine, Jude Devereaux, Lisa Gregory. A wide range of stories and writing styles, but all the books had one thing in common: the heroines were all strong women. The endings were happy. Hey, I thought. I could get into this.

Obviously I did. But which was my favorite? Oh, good heavens. I have no idea. I’ve read way too many. In fact, and I’m not boasting, I think I’ve read every sweet Regency romance ever written(it had been a bad year). There are so many brilliant romance authors, that it’s too hard for me to single out one author or one book as my definitive favorite. I can say that there are some that stand out. Laura Leone’s Fever Dreams, Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels, Mary Jo Putney’s One Perfect Rose. Morning Glory by Lavryle Spencer and….you see what I mean? I can’t limit them.
Or maybe I can. Well, I can at least point to the author who probably did more than anybody else to get me where I am now.

It’s all my friend Sally Hawkes’s fault. Sally is the one who really guided my feet through Regency England. And she knew that I loved nothing more than a cracking adventure. So she said, “Have you read Patricia Veryan?”
Now Patricia isn’t for everyone. Her language is what I call High Regency. Patrick O’Brien’s characters speak much the same way. Not only that, she has a habit in her books of utilizing a quaint plot device I like to call Gypsy Ex Machina. But I’m telling you here and now, nobody does what I call historical adventure better. You think Scarlet Pimpernel was great (actually, the book was awful. The heroine spent the whole book sitting in a cottage waiting while the hero had adventures)? Well, it had nothing on the Patricia Veryan books.

She had three series, The Golden Chronicles and the Tales of the Jeweled Men, which were set right after Culloden and followed the purported Jacobite treasure, and then, later, in 1815, the Sanguinet Series. I’ll tell you how good those books are. I read them in order. Golden, Jeweled and then Sanguinet. But when I opened the first book of the Sanguinet series, I realized that strangers were living in the home of one of my favorite characters from the earlier series, Muffin. Suddenly I realized that the Sanguinet series began sixty years after the end of the Jeweled Man series. Which meant…..which meant…..Muffin was dead!! Not only that, everybody in the first two series was dead! This may sound stupid, but I had to put that book down for a good couple of weeks so I could grieve for characters who never existed. Only then could I read about their fictional descendents.

I admit I also love a good wounded hero. Well, Sally and I nicknamed Veryan’s books “The Gimp of the Month Club”. There was LOTS of action. And then, to cap it off, Veryan wrote one of the great romance books ever, A Dedicated Villain. The hero, Roland Otton, has been the quasi-villain of the first four books, taking advantage of the political turmoil in England after Culloden to feather his own nest. As one of the other characters says about him, “the nice thing about this particular friend was that there’s no doubting his reprehensible qualities. He makes no bones of the fact that he’s a rascal, which simplified matters.”

And even though you see him do fairly despicable things, you can’t help but like him. In fact, by the time you read Dedicated Villain, in which he is the hero, you want to see him redeemed.

Like the good magpie I am, I stole a couple of bright, shiny things from Veryan, like the idea that historicals can have action and adventure and suspense along with emotion and sex(well, okay, I added the sex. Veryan was a bit too proper). And one more thing. In a completely different series of books, I made the villain of the first two books the heroine of the third. I did that in my Daughters of Mabh series I did for Nocturne as Kathleen Korbel. And I have to tell you: it’s particularly satisfying.

So while I refuse to name my favorite book among the hundreds I’ve read, I will tell you who impacted me the most. I think it’s Patricia Veryan.

What book or author impacted you the most? Not necessarily the most popular, or the one you reread the most? The one that changed the direction of either your reading or writing. The one that opened your eyes to a completely new genre or time period or character?

Eileen Dreyer is a multiple Rita award winning author who has been previously published in series romance, paranormal romance, and mystery, who just entered the historical romance genre with the first book in the Drake’s Rakes series, Barely a Lady – out now!

Thanks for having me today! Sarah asked me to talk about some of my favorite romances, and then I want to hear about some of yours. Mine include anything and everything by Lisa Kleypas. I absolutely adore her books, especially her Hathaway series.  Lisa is one of the few authors I run out to buy on launch day. If you haven’t read her Hathaway series, I highly recommend it. I bought the final book in the series, Love in the Afternoon, on Tuesday and I’ve been annoyed that I haven’t been able to devour it this week. Don’t you hate when life gets in the way of your reading plans? In addition to Lisa’s historicals, I also love her contemporary series that began with Sugar Baby. Lisa could write the phonebook and I’d read it.

Other favorites include Mary Balogh’s Huxtable series, about another unforgettable family. Are you seeing a pattern here? Despite the fact that I write contemporary and romantic suspense, I love, love, love the historicals! I blame my friend Michele Anne Young for getting me hooked with her book last year, Lady Flees Her Lord, which is awesome by the way! That book left me wanting more historicals, and I’ve been totally insatiable ever since. Another of my auto buy series is Robyn Carr’s Virgin River books. I really love everything about those books, from the characters to the fictional town of Virgin River to the mountain setting. That series resides permanently on my keeper shelf.

The book that sparked my love of romance was The Thorn Birds, which I read when I was probably far too young for such a book, the summer between 8th and 9th grades. I’ve never forgotten the yearning love Meggie had for Fr. Ralph and tension between them as they tried to resist all they felt for each other. Other books I’ve loved recently are Nora Roberts’ Bride series (the first three books are out, the fourth is coming later this year), Anna Campbell’s My Reckless Surrender, Christy Reece’s Last Chance, and Julie James’s Something About You. All books worth checking out!

Enough about me. Tell me some of your favorites! I’ll give a copy of Fatal Affair to one respondent. Now, about the book:

On the morning of the most important vote of Senator John O’Connor’s career he is late—again. His best friend and chief of staff, Nick Cappuano sets off to O’Connor’s apartment expecting to roust him from bed and hoping he is alone. But what Nick finds is that O’Connor, the handsome, amiable Senator from Virginia, has been brutally murdered, and Nick’s world comes crashing down around him. Complicating the disaster, the detective assigned to the case is none other than Sam Holland, Nick’s one-night stand from six years earlier, the woman who broke his heart and haunts his dreams. With six years worth of unfinished business hanging between them and more than a few scores to settle personally and professionally, Nick and Sam set out to find the senator’s killer while trying—and failing—to resist the overwhelming attraction between them that seems to have only grown over the years.

It soon becomes clear that the senator’s past holds secrets that not only led to his death but now endanger Nick and Sam as well. Working together to find a killer and to rediscover the love they thought they lost long ago, they must put the past behind them and build a future that offers a world of new opportunities for both of them—including an offer from the Virginia Democrats for Nick to finish the last year of John’s term. Buy the book at http://ebooks.carinapress.com.

And about me:

Marie Force’s first romantic suspense, FATAL AFFAIR, was released June 21, 2010 from Carina Press. Book 2 in the Fatal Series, FATAL JUSTICE, is coming soon from Carina. She is also the author of LINE OF SCRIMMAGE and LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT. Of LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, Booklist said, “With its humor and endearing characters, Force’s charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” Wild on Books said, “LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!” A third contemporary, EVERYBODY LOVES A HERO, is due out Feb. 1, 2011. Since 1996, Marie has been the communications director for a national organization similar to the Romance Writers of America. She is a member of RWA’s New England, From the Heart and Published Author Special Interest Chapters. While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two children and a feisty dog named Brandy. Find her at www.mariesullivanforce.com, on her blog at http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Force/248130827909 and on Twitter at twitter.com/MarieForce. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at marie@marieforce.com.

The allure of the smart hero, for me, is undeniable. That’s not to say I don’t like equally intelligent women, or to imply that there are particularly dumb heroes out there. I guess what I should say is I have a fondness for intellectual heroes. Now for those of you who might have read my blog may have discovered that I’m married to a university professor (not one of mine, mind you) so perhaps this attraction to the smarty-pants type is not that surprising. But aside from real life, I dig the men of the mind in fiction as well.

A few examples to prove my point. Do any of you watch Fox’s show, Lie to Me? Now the actor, Tim Roth, isn’t particularly handsome, but his character is so smart and perceptive and physical that there on screen he becomes super sexy. It’s inexplicable, really, because sometimes he’s a bit of an ass on the show, yet that appeal is always there and it’s totally because of his mind.

Another example of the unattractive, though sexy, man is Jeff Goldblum, in just about anything he’s been in, but in particular Independence Day. I’m telling you when he’s walking across the dessert at the end in that fly suit and his crazy long legs are so apparent, whoa, he’s smoking. But again, it’s his intelligence (not to mention his unconditional love of his wife) that gives him that umph!

And, of course, there’s Indy, as in Indiana Jones. Now I know what you’re thinking, it’s Harrison Ford, of course he’s sexy and you’re totally right. He’d be hot with a paper sack on his head. He the character is so damn clever, just smart in all the right ways. Couple that with his knack for getting into danger and then finding ways out of it and you’ve got the perfect hero and ultimately the inspiration for my Legend Hunters series.

Early this month the 2^nd book in the trilogy hit stores. DESIRE ME is set in Victorian England and is all about the quest for the truth about the lost continent of Atlantis. And Max is just that yummy kind of hero that’s smart, but also strong and capable to get himself and his heroine, Sabine, out of trouble. And believe me they get in a ton of trouble. You see they’re on a quest to find a secret weapon that will enable them to unravel an ancient prophecy. And along the way sparks are flying between them and dangers lurk around every corner. It was great fun to write and I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

“A wildly inventive and original plot, a captivating cast of secondary characters, and an unforgettable hero and heroine (whose sexual chemistry is strong enough to generate actual sparks) add up to a scintillating addition to DeHart’s Victorian-set Legend Hunters series.”— Booklist

And here’s a short excerpt to whet your appetite.

His left eyebrow slowly rose. Max watched her face for several moments saying nothing. Then he opened his mouth to finally speak, but he paused as if considering something before he began. “I believe I’ll reserve my question until after you’ve examined my map.” When she made no move to look, he swept his arms open. “Please, look as long as you’d like.”

Excitement battered her insides as she made haste to the map. She stood as close as she could without pressing her nose to it. The prophecy was here somewhere. She only had to locate it. There were no words along the border of the map, nor in any of the corners. Perhaps it was on the backside, but she couldn’t very well take the thing off the wall and out of the frame. At least not yet.

She didn’t know how long she stood there searching every inch. It was hard to focus on her search because she was so distracted by the details within the map:  Poseidon’s palace, military barracks, farms and cottages, and the three guardian temples. She forced herself to count each ring, her eyes moving along the circles searching for any words. But she found none. Then a symbol in one of the trees caught her attention. She looked closer.

“The seven rings of Atlantis will fall by fire and steel, opening the path for the army of one.” Max’s voice came from behind her, but she stood utterly still, afraid if she moved, he’d stop. “Empires will crumble and crowns will melt. The three will lose their blood unless the dove can bring salvation.“

The words flowed over her like an ancient incantation, as if her very soul recognized them. She braced her arms on the cabinet below only to realize it was a large glass case enclosing a long spear. It was blackened and charred. She was just turning around to face Max when his arms splayed on either side of her anchoring her in front of the map.

“Find what you were looking for?” he purred.

She looked up and met his gaze. His blue eyes were so clear, so beautiful, she nearly winced. Those were the kind of eyes that could pierce a soul, find hidden secrets and unveil them with little effort. For her, that meant nothing but danger.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said stiffly, “I was merely admiring the map. It’s really quite stunning. So unique.”

He leaned closer to her, his eyes scanned her face. “Yes, beautiful,” he said softly.

Tell me about your favorite kind of hero, what kind of guy always piques your interest? Make a comment and you just might win an autographed copy of DESIRE ME. I’ve got 2 copies to give away.

-Robyn DeHart

SEDUCE ME (RomCon Readers’ Crown finalist, RT Reviewers Choice Award Winner, Best Historical Romantic Adventure)
DESIRE ME, GCP, June 2010
TREASURE ME, GCP, March 2011

www.RobynDeHart.com
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