Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Today, June 20th, is the solstice, and the first day of summer! And while spring is probably my favorite season overall, I have a longstanding affection for the early days of summer and the surge of energy and enthusiasm that often accompanies them. Celebrating the solstice, which can include Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day   ( June 23-24), can take many forms. In Santa Barbara, where I lived for several years, there would be a parade on the Saturday nearest the official date. Spectators would line up for blocks to watch fantastically dressed people and/or elaborate floats travel from lower State Street to Alameda Park. Usually, there would be a theme. Last year, it was “Sci-Fi”—this year it will be “Legends.” (Click on the following link to see the 2015 parade in full swing.) 2015 Santa Barbara Solstice Parade A similarly festive atmosphere can be found in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, where the solstice is celebrated with floral wreaths, dancing around t...

For some reason I've received a lot of questions this week asking do I use people from my day job in my books? Do I kill off former bosses? My staff kept asking if some day they'd get to be heroes or perhaps victims? And would they recognize themselves? No. No. No. And another no just to be sure. Then they ask again. So I reply that my books start with a character's voice and often with a season. The voice probably comes from years of running the high school theater and then later working several years in live theater and six more in the opera (where I was a computer tech, but I heard a lot of magnificent voices). I'm also a movie buff which doesn't hurt. Voice tells you me so much about a character. Beyond accent, there is region, and beyond region there is pacing. My characters tend to think quickly and speak abruptly... Of course, I'm currently writing military romantic suspense so that makes some sense. But also season. Book two of my Night Stalkers,...

by Libby Malin www.LibbysBooks.com As I write this, a warm wind rattles window panes as a January thaw day places a down payment on spring. Here in the mid-Atlantic region, it's not unusual to experience these "outlier" days when temps shoot up to the forties and sometimes to the fifties in winter. When I lived in Vermont, an atypical winter day might put you over freezing, but just barely. Not a cold-weather person, I'm happy to be out of that icebox. I love the spring season and already eagerly look at forsythia branches for signs of awakening buds. Spring itself is a time of awakening, signaling the start of something new in ways that a champagne-soaked 12:01 a.m. on January 1 just can't do. Warmer weather means shedding coats, opening doors and windows, and generally liberating ourselves of winter's layers. It's a time of expectations--what will the melting snow reveal, what flower will bloom next, what bird will return to the trees, what romantic eve...