Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

It's official SIN AND SATISFACTION THURSDAY otherwise known as 'eat your weight in chocolate' day. THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL releases May 1 and the tag line is HE IS SIN AND SATISFACTION, LUST AND DAMNATION. Well -- there is something else that has come to define LUST AND DAMNATION to me this past 10 days.... Yes these little chocolate puppies have become my DAMNATION. I just sat here while THINKING about what to write on this blog and ate 75% of the bag. Well according to the bag that is 180 calories x 5.....CRINGE. And by the way -- this is an inspirational post -- just in case you missed the obvious tone. YES I SAY! INSPIRATIONAL. Why? Because this way if YOU celebrate today's special EAT YOUR WEIGHT IN CHOCOLATE day you now know you are not alone. And if you didn't/or don't, then you now know you have more willpower than at least one person -- that person being ME! I do have to say-- the chocolate inside those Cadbury eggs is just yummy. REALLY yummy. YES...I...

I love sleep. Probably because like most working moms, I don't get enough of it. It's the ultimate alone time. Like many of you, I'm a mom, wife, writer and employee-at-insert-job-here. Between work, kids, husband, house, laundry, dogs, bird, writing, editing...there are only so many hours in the day to get it all done. Very often, sleep is the thing that gets cut short. Sleeping at night for a nice long eight hour stretch is fantastic. The only thing that trumps that is the Sunday afternoon nap. I never used to be able to nap. You know... before I had kids. HA! Not anymore. I used to make fun of my father for taking catnaps. Clearly, God has a sense of humor because these days I daydream of napping. Naps. Now they are the ultimate indulgence for me. Laying on the sofa, curled up under my coziest blanket and falling asleep to a great old movie. ( Dirty Dancing anyone?) Yes, that quiet nap time with no interruptions . You know the ones I mean. Questions like.... What time...

Indulging myself is easy—a good book; a quarter pound of sprouted almonds covered in double dark German chocolate consumed one at a time; a sleep-in day in the middle of the week; a bouquet of flowers; a good dessert after a meal with a friend. Pampering myself, however, is foreign to my nature in the typical sense. I don’t want anybody fussing with my hair, skin, fingernails or toenails. I have restless leg syndrome too severely to permit me to enjoy a massage. I do not enjoy shopping for anything except books and horses (and really good chocolate covered almonds). I do not own a DVD player so an Austen marathon is out (though Colin, I do miss you). If I belonged to a gym, then lingering in the sauna might appeal, except the last gym I joined left me with tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, thrush, athlete’s foot and the certain conviction—as God is my witness, Katie Scarlett—I will never join another gym. But I do have some guilty ...

As a wife, a mother and a self-employed writer, the concept of indulgence is an interesting one.I've been a writer for years, lucky enough to be paid to do it, but there never seems to be enough time to really indulge myself in something completely frivolous. Even though I work at home, I treat my writing as I would a regular office job, with the exception that I don't leave the house and I can do it in my robe. I take two breaks, one for breakfast and one for lunch, unless it's my run day then I break for a run mid-morning. I don't consider my run an indulgence. I do some of my best plotting on a sunny day in my sneakers plodding along the creek trail. Besides, sitting all day, I really need that exercise. (And I need to offset my Junior Mint addiction.) By 4:30, I leave my home office and take my work downstairs to my laptop, where I watch the Food Network for an hour and indulge my fantasy that maybe someday I'll actually be a good cook. One of my favorite ...

I’ve loved taking hot baths for as long as I remember, and they’ve long served multiple purposes in my life. As a lifelong Minnesotan, I have a well-honed appreciation for warmth. As a former competitive gymnast, my muscles slackened and relaxed as they slurped up the moist heat. And the bathtub’s always been my favorite place to read. As a young teenager, one of my favorite Sunday afternoon rituals was to take a bath with a book—usually a Harlequin Presents category romance. I’d lock the door, fill the bathtub with too-hot water, and carefully select my bubble bath from the row of colorful plastic bottles lining the toilet tank. I’d read until my skin was shriveled like a prune—or until one of my younger sisters picked the lock with a bobby pin.   When I was a slightly older teenager, I got sick. Suddenly it hurt to eat, and my joints ached all the time, even though gymnastics season was over. I lost weight—a lot of weight. Family and friends kept me stocked with books durin...

Indulgence = ? By Catherine Mann I feel like I should post one word here and I could be done with my blog entry for this month, but that wouldn't be fair. Would it? But if I did have to condense my thoughts on a treasured indulgence, it would go something like this: INDULGENCE=STARBUCKS Beyond just the joy of saying the words.... Venti Peppermint Mocha Latte, Skim Milk, No Whip... sometimes decaf.... (Okay, I know there's whip in the photo, but I figure calories don't count since we're on the internet!) There's the camaraderie that comes with a trip to Starbucks, curling up in one of those comfy chairs and sipping a latte or coffee while I talk with one of my writer buddies for hours on end.... Writer Buddy=Joanne Rock Writer Buddy=Stephanie Newton Now that I think about it, the true indulgence is the blessing of friendship. And on that note, I believe I'm going indulge myself in a long phone call with one of my treasured writer buddies! What...

By Anita Clenney As writers we work hard. I doubt that anyone can understand the the challenges and frustrations that come from putting together a 100,000 word puzzle that must fit together perfectly and then stand up to stringent review. So writers need some time away to recharge their batteries. Sometimes that's in the form of a good book (a definite indulgence), a pedicure, sitting outside in the sunshine - away from the computer, or one of my favorites...shopping. I mean look-out-I'm-on-a-mission shopping. There is always something I want or need. Maybe it's a new mirror for the wall, which I use instead of artwork. My husband issued an ultimatum after the twentieth mirror went on the wall - I'm obsessed with them, or rather, the frames. I'm a frugal shopper so I won't pay a lot for my lovely mirrors, or whatever I'm looking for. This means I have to go bargain hunting. It's my version of a treasure hunt. It may be a handbag, the perfect pair of jean...

By Deb Werksman Editorial Manager Sourcebooks Casablanca   Believe it or not, I have already just about finalized my list for Spring 2012 and I’m preparing to launch! What does ‘launch’ mean, you’d like to know? This is the exciting, all day meeting when the season’s books are introduced to the Sales, Marketing, PR, and Design departments for the first time. From that point forward, the wheels begin to roll—schedules are set, strategies designed, and a whole slew of people spring into action to work on your book. There are 2 seasons—Spring and Fall, and in a move I thought was an ingenious manipulation of the space/time continuum, I made August and February scheduled months in both seasons—voila! A year with 14 months in it! (Now, if only I could get a day with 28 hours, or a clone of myself…) So the Spring season runs February to August, and the Fall season August to February. We’re working about 14 months ahead, so I’ve been planning for Spring 2012 since Dec...

***UPDATE*** Heather (comment #31) you're the winner of the BODYGUARDS IN BED Advance Reader Copy. Email me at elisabeth (at) elisabethnaughton (dot) com with your snail mail info and I'll get your book in the mail! Congrats! *** It occurred to me recently that I didn't post the winners to my book giveaway last month. Shame on me, I know. In my defense, I blame two things: 1) pain killers (I recently had surgery) and 2) deadline brain. Not sure which is the bigger culprit so I'll blame both. Major apologies to everyone who entered. And I promise to make up for it at the end of this post. To start things off, we'll do a little light housekeeping... Would the following two people please email me at elisabeth (at) elisabethnaughton (dot) com to claim their prize???? Winner of MARKED: Kaetrin (comment #26) Winner of ENTWINED: Victoria (comment #10) Congrats to the two winners! Winners, please send me your snail mail addy and I'll get your autographed book in the ...

A special treat for me (and my family) is to go to the bookstore, find a special book, and curl up and read for the rest of the day. It makes for a very quiet house. :} It’s even more special when I can find a new release by one of my favorite authors, and I feel like I’ve struck gold if I find more than one! There are just some authors whose style resonates with me, and I know I won’t be able to put the book down, regardless of the story. (For example, I don’t look for horror stories, but put a Stephen King book in my hand, and his small-town setting and characters are so engrossing that I can’t put it down.) I know I have hours of entertainment ahead of me, and all for less than ten bucks. There’s something magical about entering through the double-doors of the bookstore and having a sea of books spread out before you. So many different worlds to enter, and adventures to experience, and characters to fall in love with. It’s often the way I reward myself when I finish writing one of m...

By Mary Margret Daughtridge (Indulge me; I’m going off-topic.) I finally found Crystal’s mouse toy in the corner behind the floor lamp, between my big teal leather armchair and the wall. When I say “mouse toy,” don’t imagine small, gray, furry . It looks like it escaped from a Dr. Seuss book. It measures about ten inches from pointy pink nose to tail tip. One end is half-a-mouse: a lavender mouse head with purple ears, and two lavender, vaguely crocodile-looking front legs. From there it turns into an empty ring striped cone of purple and white fabric tapering to a point. Never a thing of beauty, after ten years of play, the purple dye has worn off the ears, the cone of fabric is limp, and the once-white stripes are brownish-grey with grime. I’d have thrown it out years ago, but it’s the only toy, of the dozens I bought her, that Crystal ever played with. Not that I ever saw her do it. She kept it mostly in the dining room and hall, and come morning, I’d find it ...

by Cheryl Brooks We're discussing indulgence this month here on the Casa Babe Blog, but I must admit, I had a hard time deciding what to write for this post. Since I am now writing for two publishers, work a full-time job, have a family, two horses and other assorted pets, I have lost sight of what it truly means to indulge myself. My life consists of fulfilling the needs of others. Not that I'm complaining. I love writing, and I love my family and all that goes along with caring for them, but now that I am faced with the task of writing this piece, I realize that hidden somewhere beneath the daily grind, I have a dream. A dream that stays with me even when I'm giving pain meds, changing dirty linens, and emptying bedpans. A dream that calls to me when I'm in the middle of writing one of those hot love scenes. Or feeding my horses. Or fixing dinner. It's a huge dream, and one that would require some major remodeling. But it isn't a pool or a hot tub or my own pe...

Quite honestly, there’s not been a lot of decadence in my life. I’m not the kind of person who likes to be pampered. I always feel like there’s something else I could be doing, which would be vastly more productive. That’s not exactly a pampering mindset. But there are times when all of us need a little pampering, after a hard week at work or a rough day with the kids or after a serious bout of spring cleaning, which is definitely in my future! My favorite way to treat myself is to get a pedicure. There’s something about having soft, pretty feet that makes me feel refreshed and feminine again. Like many of you, I also enjoy curling up with a good book—my favorite chair, a glass of wine, maybe some chocolate, and a sweeping historical or a funny contemporary are my idea of winding down. What about you? Do you enjoy being pampered or do you usually have better things to do?

This month's posts are all about decadence. How do you treat yourself, my fellow Casababes ask?I treat myself pretty well, thank you, but there are occasions when I think I deserve an extra-special treat - like when I have a really productive writing day, or get the house looking respectable for a change. Or right now, when the topic of this blog reminds me that maybe I don't treat myself often enough. Excuse my while I go dish out a big bowl of ice cream and slather it with massive amounts of chocolate sauce. (Imagine slurping and noshing noises and sighs of piggy satisfaction.) Okay, I'm back. While I was eating the ice cream, I got to thinking about what really feels decadent and self-indulgent to me. One of my favorite rewards is time with a book. Time that I've blocked out deliberately, when I don't feel pressured or preoccupied with other things I should be doing - like writing books for other people to read. I recently had a pretty good excuse for self-indul...

by Leah Hultenschmidt, Senior Editor Happy St. Patty’s Day! I was going to do a whole post on luck vs. hard work (quite the opposite of this month’s pampering theme, I know). But then Deb and I got on the phone yesterday afternoon and decided we’re on a hunt-down for some contemporary romance. It doesn’t get fresher than this. What makes an amazing contemporary? It’s all about the guy. When I think about my favorite contemps, we’re getting a hero we can fall in love with very quickly in the story—and I mean in the first chapter when I say early. We’re getting snappy dialogue and characters we really believe in, along with a story we could envision (or fantasize about!) happening to us. So if you’ve got a fresh complete contemporary romance with high action a la Suze Brockmann, small-town values like Robyn Carr, humor that sizzles like Robin Kaye, or just as all-round delicious as Jennifer Crusie’s BET ME, bring it on! Post a comment below with: Your ...

I don't consider myself particularly self-indulgent...until I hear about struggles other people go through without complaint. I'll whine about the damndest things. At the moment, our furnace is broken, and I'm waiting for the guy to come and fix it. By the time this blog posts, everything will be repaired and working properly. But our couple of cold days got me to thinking historically. How the heck did my ancestors survive these awful New England winters? I'm complaining because the electric space heater only heats one side of my body. My husband was complaining last night because he couldn't sleep over the noise of it. Our ancestors had to pile wood on the fire and wait patiently for the room to warm up. If they weren't rich, they had to go out and chop the wood! Dear Lord, I'd have whined myself to death. Now, I have to tell you that my favorite indulgence is my hot tub. I absolutely love getting in there with a glass of wine and a good book. In nice weat...

You may have noticed that I've been scarce around the Casababes lately. No, it has nothing to do with any of you wonderful ladies, or our fabulous readers. Sadly, it's this wicked thing the proverbial "they" call a Day Job. After waaaaay too many years out of the full time office job pool (let's face it, Mommyhood is a full time job like no other), I've finally taken the plunge back in. Unfortunately, there was no dabbling my toe in to see if the water was warm. No, I did the Nestea Plunge! In my defense, however, I will say that I was tricked. See, my buddy, Joe, whom I've worked with in the past in my part-time/get-me-out-of-the-house-so-I-have-an-excuse-not-to-clean capacity, called me up last July. "Hey, Jude," (I'll wait why you sing the rest of the chorus from the Beatles' song... like I've never heard THAT before...) "I'm with this start-up company that is growing faster than we can follow it and we really need someone...

That's it! I freely admit I'm addicted to storytelling. But it doesn't stop there. I love to read, to discover new worlds, to find new romance. *sigh* When I was a kid and budding teen, I loved to read. At one point, we were living in Central Florida, a swampy jungle across the street from our development, with the Sahara Desert- worthy mountains of sand across the canal from my backyard. But it was also hot and muggy and mosquitoes attacked every speck of skin not protected by insect repellent. So I loved to read inside in my air conditioned bedroom. My parents were not really big readers and wanted me outside to play. And so I explored the jungle with neighborhood kids (which I'm sure if my parents had known, they would have much preferred I stayed in my air conditioned bedroom to read a safe story), and climbed the sand dunes that stretched to the sky, all the while making up my own stories of pirate treasures, being marooned in the desert, or lost in a jungle, and a...

by Olivia Cunning “I had fun talking to you. Thanks for indulging me.” Myrna picked up her laptop case and left the lounge, the eyes of every man in the room following the gentle sway of her hips. “And thank you for en-bulging me,” Sed muttered. Had to share that bit of dialogue from my book, Backstage Pass . Because our theme is indulgence, those few lines run through my head every time I have visited the Casablanca Authors' blog this month. I hope by posting it there, it will finally leave my brain alone. It's driving me nuts! The same thing happens when I get a song stuck in my head. The only way for me to get a song out of an infinite loop is to sing it at the top of my lungs for days (which makes dogs cry), find a less offensive song to set on repeat in my gray matter, or post a video of it on my blog in a feature I call "One Track Mind". I've been trying to think of ways I indulge myself. Most involve food. Not healthy or flattering to the figure, but tempo...