Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

by Leah Hultenschmidt, Senior Editor You know those books that have such a clever/intriguing title you want to read it without knowing anything else about it? Talk about love at first sight. We talk a lot about how important a cover is, and that process is a great topic for a future post. But editors don’t have the benefit of a gorgeous cover to suck us in when we’re first reading a manuscript or proposal. If we’re lucky, we have a fabulous query letter that gets excited to read more. But what can often help complete the package is an amazing title to go along with it. Every one of my authors is going to think this post is directed him or her today because we’re all going through the process of finalizing titles as we start to set our Fall 2012 list (yes, we’re working that far ahead). But it’s really for all writers at any stage in their career. And for writers going through the submission process, a strong title can help you stand out from the pack. One ...

I have to admit that, whenever I get a new cover, I kind of squint my eyes, cross my fingers and do a little dance to the cover gods before I open the email. I  followed this routine with my cover for WHAT A GODDESS WANTS ...and nearly fell over in paroxysms of JOY. It's gorgeous. I breathed a sigh of relief and proceed to flash it everywhere I could. It got the same reaction from everyone I showed it to. They loved it. Months later, the next email came with my cover for HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS , releasing in December. For the sake of the neighbors who might accidentally catch sight of my cover dance, I left out that part of the ritual. Turns out I didn't need it. It was absolutely beautiful. Both covers capture the flavor of the erotic flavor of the book without being in your face and both guys and girls are gorgeous. I love the colors and the branding and the quotes and, most importantly, that's my name!Love it! So when I got the email bearing the cover for the t...

I had a definite "I'm becoming my mother" moment over Labor Day Weekend. It went something like this: SCENE: Lake cabin, northern MN, sunny afternoon with temperatures in the mid 60's.  While two couples eat lunch from paper plates, Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" starts playing on the radio. I wrinkle my nose at its pop and fizz, at its flagrant and unapologetic use of AutoTune. "This sucks. Hard. Who's going to tell the children of today that their favorite singers can't actually sing?" Mike grins at me. "That sounds like something our mothers would say." "Well, I like it," Kristi replies defensively. Ruh-roh. (sigh) Yeah, Mike totally called me on my crap, as longtime friends are in prime position to do. He was right. I might just as well have added, grumpily, "...and you dang kids get off of my lawn!" But if there's anything I hav...

I’m a sucker for a happily ever after when it comes to the books I read and the movies I watch. If I’m going to invest the time in reading or watching, I want a victorious ending. I recall going to one particular movie billed for the Valentine’s Day season. I braved snowy weather, ten degrees below zero, seven months pregnant to see Somersby . SPOILER ALERT: The hero dies by hanging at the end. Women throughout the movie theater gasped in horror – and anger. Where was the happily ever after we’d spent the past couple of hours watching the hero and heroine work earnestly toward achieving? Keeping that in mind for this month's blog about falling in love, I made a list of some of my favorite romantic movies where the guy and gal absolutely ride off in the sunset together. So, in no particular order, here goes... Quiet Man (John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara) One of my all time top movie picks! My husband and I watch this at least once a year, a classic romance with a wounded alpha hero and...

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I don't think anyone in America will ever view the date the same as they did prior to that tragic day. I was in bed when my husband called and said a plane had hit one of the towers. I'll never forget sitting in front of the TV, watching in horror as the events unfolded. I can see the shock on the newcasters faces when the first tower started to fall. I held my baby girl, feeling such relief, and then guilt, knowing there were some who would never be able to hold their children again. She's ten years old now, in fifth grade, always laughing, and sometimes driving me insane. And then I think about the families who would give anything they possessed to have one more touch, one more glimpse of a loved one lost. This really hit home for me a few days ago. My CP asked me to go shopping with her. She needed a gown for a formal dinner party. I live about an hour from Washington, so we were going nearby to shop. We mi...

Okay, so did I get you with the title of my post? Is there really a ‘right’ way to fall in love? Cause I believe there are as many ways to fall in love as there are lovers. I believe in falling in love at first sight. I believe that love can be a slow journey. I believe that friends can become lovers and childhood pals can suddenly discover a love for one another. You can fall in love, stumble into love, fight, struggle, and dive into love. My characters always dictate how they will fall for one another. Sometimes I don’t have a lot of control over it. I can set up the situation, but they take it from there. So I thought I’d take a look at how some of the characters from my books fell in love with one another, wondering if I had a constant theme that I might be fond of. So here goes: Beneath the Thirteen Moons : My first book, where the characters are forced on a journey together in close quarters, and there’s a whole lot of lusting and fighting going on. My characters are ...

by Danielle Jackson So, I will be 100% honest—I drew a blank thinking of this blog. Yes, yes, I’ve fallen in love and I’m very happy (and no, not engaged just yet, you nosy authors!), but this topic was one that stumped me. So I did what any curious-minded person does—I Googled it. And I found a great list of ways to know you are in love. And wouldn’t you know it, this list made me think about how over the last few years, I’ve totally and completely fallen head over heels in love with the genre of romance! Top Ten Ways to Know You’re In Love (WITH A GOOD BOOK) 1. You’re in love if you think about them all of the time. - Yup, I’m constantly checking release dates of various authors I want to read, as well as pretty much thinking about Sourcebooks releases at all hours of the day 2. You’re in love if everything reminds you of them. - Remember in Lord of Scoundrels when Jessica shoots Sebastian in the arm because he’s just that infuriating? Or in Pride and Prejudic...

Please give a big welcome to fellow Casablanca Author Leigh Michaels, who has a new release in stores this month: The Wedding Affair ! It’s great to be back with all my fellow Casablanca authors for the launch party for The Wedding Affair , my September book. It’s my third single-title spicy historical romance, after a long career of writing sweet contemporaries. Like my other two historicals, The Mistress' House and Just One Season in London, this is a triple story – three heroes, three heroines, and three romances which all wind together during the time leading up to a Regency wedding day. The Wedding Affair came about partly because I was reading the manuscript of my previous book, Just One Season in London , to my husband (is this a guy to love or what?), and when we got to the end, he said, “But we didn’t get to see the wedding!” “The wedding would be anticlimactic,” I said. “Trust me, I’m the writer. The story is over and all the characters are happy, so the w...

A BIG Casa welcome to debut author Isabel Cooper , whose debut novel, No Proper Lady hits stores this month. Let's celebrate! First of all, thanks for the opportunity to ramble about my first Sourcebooks release: NO PROPER LADY. There’s nothing like getting published to make me jump around and squeal like an anime schoolgirl, so I’ve been doing that a fair amount for the past year--every new development is very exciting! Over the years, I’ve discovered that I have the same approach to writing that I do to cocktails or desserts. One element is great and all, but I have the most fun when I’m putting different things together and seeing what happens. Maybe amaretto and milk do go with peach schnapps; maybe raspberries would taste great with maple syrup; maybe it’d be great fun to mix historical romance with vaguely Lovecraftian monsters. Why not give it a try, anyhow? NO PROPER LADY came from one of those experiments. It was fun to write--and fun to tell friends about....