Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Last week romance authors from all around the world met in San Diego, California to learn more about the business and craft of writing, meet with industry professionals, and just have fun! I love the Romance Writer's of America conference because it's a yearly meet up with old friends,  plus a way to make new friends and fangirl over my favorite authors. This year Sourcebooks Casablanca was fortunate enough to have 5 finalists for the prestigious Rita award for excellence in romance writing. Grace Burrowes seemed to elude our attempts to get a photo together, but here are 4 of us at a reception. Theresa Romain, Asa Maria Bradley, Shana Galen, ML Buchman We attended a reception outside, which was sunny and beautiful. Here's a closer look at my certificate. Another fun annual event is the Sourcebooks dinner. We went to Coronado this year, and Sourcebooks went all out with the tables and the party favors. We all received wraps to keep us warm during the chilly Sa...

I had to laugh when I saw that lovely picture of a treadmill desk on Jade Lee's post yesterday. I, too, had great expectations when I bought my own treadmill, but after seeking help from my chiropractor as to why my feet hurt so much, he hesitated a moment, cleared his throat and said, "I hate to say it, but your treadmill is the most likely cause of your problem." Alas, in the days and months since then (it may even have been a year!), my treadmill has become the repository for shoes (some of them are at least new), conference-issue tote bags, and a waste basket. My Mr. Spock mousepad sits forlorn, promising me that if I will only climb aboard, I will surely live long and prosper. Lately, the desire to live long and prosper has been outweighed by the need for feet that don't make me want to scream. The treadmill gets dusted regularly, and I do vacuum around it. I even drag it out of the way to clean underneath it from time to time. But I don't use it. ...

by Joanne Kennedy Today is the day! April 1st is the official release date for Cowboy Fever . I love all my books. Saying one is better than the other is like picking a favorite child -- you just can't do it. Each one has its unique traits and holds a special place in your heart. But I have to admit that Cowboy Fever is that special, overachieving child who's especially easy to love. For one thing, Teague Treadwell is my sexiest hero yet. He's determined to be a better man than his alcoholic father, but his tendency to solve his problems with his fists made him the town bad boy. He's done his best to step out of the shadow of his bad reputation and make himself worthy of the town's golden girl, but small town labels tend to stick. And then there's Jodi Brand, the quintessential cowgirl. A former rodeo queen, she's trying to reinvent herself too - but while Teague is trying to polish his image, she's doing her best to dull hers down. All she wants is to...

Life is full of beginnings. We set goals and put plans in motion to achieve those goals. However, sometimes those plans don't always to come to fruition. So what then? We make a new plan and begin again. When I was fresh out of college I began my initial career path as an actress. I pursued that for a while. I landed a little bit of work here and there (very little). I had my mind set on doing that for the rest of my life. That was it! I was an actress. Period. End of story. Ummmm. No. In my early twenties I married my college sweetheart. We began our married life with big plans! Definitely no kids for the first two years of our marriage. Well... about seven weeks into our marriage we discovered that we were five weeks pregnant. New plan. So we began again. Four boys, lots of bills and several years later, I began a career as a motivational public speaker. I had no idea that I could make my living talking. As a kid my nicknames were Motormouth and Chatty Cathy, so getting paid to ...

 "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.  I have committed Prologue, repeatedly, gleefully and joyfully..."   Yeah, okay. I realize that I'm risking a lighning bolt on this one. But here in the confessional, I can freely admit that I LOVE PROLOGUES - well-written prologues, that is. Prologues: love 'em or hate 'em? This is a subject where authors, agents, editors and readers all seem to have strong opinions. Writers on the contest circuit are told that agents and editors hate prologues - or do they love them this year? I forget. ;-) Right now, a lot of us here at Sourcebooks Casablanca are judging manuscripts and/or books for two of Romancelandia's most prestigious writing contests: The Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart and RITA awards. As a rabid reader, I judge a lot of contests, primarily in the paranormal/urban fantasy/futuristic/time-travel...

Well, it is Saturday (yea!) and around the nation, colleges are holding pre-football pep rallies and tailgate parties. So how about a pep rally for Sourcebooks? I have lots of reasons to love Sourcebooks— with 'They bought HEALING LUKE' right at the top! (LOL) But I was recently reminded again of what a great publisher I write for when the Rita Contest, sponsored by Romance Writers of America, opened for submissions. I've been fortunate enough to have five books out in print this year, all of them eligible for the prestigious Rita. (Think Academy Awards of romance books.) But to enter the contest, the author must plunk down a $40 (for RWA members) registration fee and send five copies of the entered book. (Fee + cost of books + postage on books = mega moola) Sure, it is pricey, but for me it is worth it. Finaling in the Rita would be a tremendous honor. In past years, I've had one, maybe two, books to enter. This year ... five! Now I'm not going to tell one of my b...