Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

by M. L. Buchman Wait, the 4th? As in July 4th? Yep! For authors, holidays start months ahead of time. Christmas books are released in October, which means they're written over the sweltering summers. Valentine's Day stories make some sense, written in the dark of winter about the hopes of, well, not spring, but at least February. And for my second Independence Day romance, the novel started well before that. For the fun of it, I thought I'd trace back through my notes for the origin of this one. Huh! Okay. In a way it started three years ago when I released my first July 4th romance: Frank's Independence Day . Now Frank Adams, head of the Presidential Protection Detail, has turned out to be one of the more popular characters in my Night Stalkers series, and not just the Night Stalkers White House series either. Of course his wife, Beatrice Ann "Beat" Belfour might have something to do with it. Two years ago they figured prominently in the Preside...

Fabulous Facts About France! I’m sure, like me, you were shocked and saddened by the events that took place in Paris a few days ago. For me, it was almost surreal because for the past few weeks I’ve been heavily steeped in the events leading up to and during the French Revolution. I feel like I spend a good part of each day in Paris, even if it is the Paris of the past. As writers, we often have to limit how much research we can include in our books. I find out so many cool things, but I can only use about a tenth of them and only those that fit in the story. So I thought I’d share here 5 of the fabulous facts about France I’ve discovered through my research. Chocolate and Coffee=Yum! If you love your mocha latte at Starbucks, you are not alone. Parisians have been adding chocolate to coffee since at least the 1700s. Know what the prisoners drank in the Bastille? Coffee with chocolate. The Bastille At one time it probably did house political pri...

My dentist's receptionist called me at the end of September, and the conversation was kind of surreal. Receptionist: Ms. Browning-Erwin, you have an appointment for September 29. This is your reminder. Me: Oh. Sorry. I have to reschedule. I'll be in London. Receptionist: That's okay. We have a week later. Me: Um, nope. I'll be in Paris. Oops. Receptionist: How about a Tuesday, two weeks after that? Me: Sure... oh. Hmm. No. I'll be in Napa. Let's just make it for sometime in November. I think I'm free then. True story. I'm pretty sure she thought I was just showing off by the end of the conversation. My husband took me to London and Paris for our 25th Anniversary, and it was magical. Then last week, I was in Napa to celebrate the very special milestone birthday of a friend. I'm sure there are stories to be told, but I just got back. I actually wrote this before leaving. Check my Facebook for updates! In between, I attended a...

By Robin Kaye For those of you who haven’t been following the blog long, you probably don’t know that my husband is not the most romantic guy. Actually, I usually say he’s about as romantic as a stump, and really, what’s romantic about a stump? Nothing. Now don’t get me wrong, he has other great qualities—he’s a Domestic God after all, which in my book, counts for a lot. However, when it comes to the cards, flowers, chocolate, and gifts thing he’s so not into it. For Valentine’s Day this year, I received a kiss and an “I love you.” Although nice, it’s no big whoop since I get those the other 364 days of the year too. Still, there was one day in our twenty + years of marriage that he actually did something romantic. In fact six years later, I’m still pinching myself. Really. Though after such a huge success, I think he’s under the misconception that he’s still on the positive side of the romance-meter, and according to his calculations, is good for the next nine years. At the time, our ...