Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Happy Halloween from all of us at Sourcebooks Casablanca. We wanted to give all of our readers a treat, so here are a few snapshots of how we're celebrating! Some of us are dressing up! Bonnie Gill, Vampire Hunter (armed with crossbow), and Terry Spear, Vampire Hunter (lost her sword) Authors After Dark Vampire Ball And some of us are taking little ones trick-or-treating. Baby Galen as Rapunzel And there's always pumpkin carving. Last year, Theresa Romain's daughter Little Miss R was old enough to make her first jack-o-lantern. She drew the face… and Mr. Romain cut it out to her specifications. Theresa can't quite decide whether it's creepy or cute. And then there's pumpkin CARVING! Brooklyn Ann carved Jack from the Shining And the Megadeath mascot. How are you celebrating?

I seem to struggle with transitions. Not book transitions. They’re easy. End a chapter on a dramatic note, and then turn the page. Bam, we’re in a different scene and off on something new! Easy-peasy. But in real life, I can’t cut to the next part. I have to stop working on one thing, figure out what I’m doing next, drive to wherever I’m going and then do whatever I need to do. Oh wait, did I forget something important? Leave my work out shoes in the car? Did I lose my cell phone? And where’s my credit card? It’s not just the forgetting things that bothers me. If I’m honest, my mind has always been somewhat scattered. But I don’t seem to be shifting from one task to another as fluidly as I once did. Maybe it’s because the kids have grown up. (I love empty nesting!) I remember having to countdown to departures. Leaving in 15 minutes, turn off the tv. Leaving in 10, get your shoes and coat. Leaving in 5, did you remember your lunch? What about the permission slip? Apparently, I

by M. L. Buchman I've just returned from another world...and, to quote Monty Python, my brain HURTZ! It was a strange return to my first love, science fiction (shh, don't tell). I didn't discover romance until I attended the 1996 RWA national conference, literally my first ever writing conference and where I read my first three romance novels ever. How a man who had never read a romance ended up there, well, that's just too weird. Like I fell through a space warp or something. (I fell in love with science fiction when I was ten, which was way before that. It's also why I've written and published a half dozen science fiction and fantasy novels along the way under Matthew Lieber Buchman.) Anyway, my trip to another world included reading approximately 300 short stories (literally), writing four myself, and spending an entire week in class studying SF. You'll never guess what happened to me... Guess yet? Thought not. Two main things: 1) I remembered

The one thing all of us have in common is reading. No matter how busy I am, I try to take some time to read every day. Most of the time, I can fit about a half hour in. Sometimes I can manage an hour. Sometimes I have to wait in the doctor’s office or have my hair cut, and then I can really carve out some reading time. Yes, I am one of those people. Since I don’t have much time to read, I don’t have a favorite place to read. I can and will read anywhere. My husband doesn’t read much and likes to watch sports, so I often read in my bedroom, just because it’s quiet and I can concentrate. The problem with reading in bed is I usually fall asleep. I probably get more reading done at my daughter’s after-school activities. I always bring a book to gymnastics and ballet and find I can keep up with both the plot and the lesson for the day. I’m surprised I don’t see more moms reading while waiting for ballet to get out. Scrolling through one’s phone seems the most popular option.

Thanks so much to everyone who shared their favorite books, movies, villains and other comments about what stories mean to them. I enjoyed reading all the comments from my post last Friday. My DH pulled a name out of the hat to pick my random winner and that winner is . . . drumroll, please . . . LisaScrapBooker !  Please contact me through the email on my website with your mailing info, Lisa. As soon as I hear from you, I'll send your copy of Plaid Tidings ! Didn't win but still want a Highlander for Christmas? Print: Amazon | B&N | BAM | Indiebound | BookDepository Ebook : Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | ARe Be sure to pop by my blog on Monday Oct 28th. I'm hosting fellow Sourcebooks author Pamela Sherwood for a blog swap with double giveaways! Hope to see you there.

From Mia Marlowe ...   Huh? What's for supper? Are you kidding me? Who can think about food at a time like this? My hero and heroine have entered the Black Moment and who knows . . . What? It's just a story. Well, maybe to you, but when I read it's full immersion time. I try on the heroine's fancy slippers and fall in love with the hero (who always looks like my DH, of course!). Just to give you some ideas about how I think about storytelling, I set up a little Q&A. (Note: Pay attention to the questions. You get to pick one or all of them to answer to be entered in the random drawing for my newest release Plaid Tidings !) QUESTION 1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Mia: My favorite movie depends on my mood. If I want a thinking movie, I love BLOOD DIAMOND with Leonardo di Caprio. It's a heartbreaking look at the African diamond trade, tribalism and the redemption possible in a father's unrelenting love. If I want a romantic comedy, THE THO

by Deb Werksman Editorial Manager Sourcebooks Casablanca   This material was complied by a colleague and may in the future appear on our Sourcebooks NEXT blog.  Can't wait to hear what YOU think! A look at sales distribution shows majority of exposure is still in print. We believe in authors and we believe in books – and that those books should be available whenever and however readers want. Just as important, though, is WHEREVER readers want. There’s obviously been a lot of emphasis on the proliferation of ebooks—especially in the romance genre, which has one of the highest percentages of ebook sales.   To find out just how much, though, we started digging into the sales of three authors whose books released in the same month this spring to find out exactly where their books were going. Surprise—more than half of the distribution for these three romance authors is in print!   A couple of caveats: this represents sell-in not sell-through except in the c

I'm so excited to share my good news! Deb Werksman offered a contract for my new Historical Irish Western Trilogy set in Golden, Colorado in the late 1870s the day before I left for the NJRW Conference this past weekend. It seems that Deb and I have this Karmic connection through NJRW. We met for the first time a few years ago waiting in line desperate for a cup of tea, but I didn't realize she was an editor until she asked what my friend and I were writing. At the time I had a hot contemporary cowboy story that I had just finished, and she asked for the full ms. Fast forward a few years, and I'm two months away from releasing my sixth book with Sourcebooks, my fifteenth book,WELCOME BACK TO APPLE GROVE. This is the third story in my small town contemporary romance set in the fictional town of Apple Grove, Ohio.  I'm celebrating my good news by giving away an ARC of my December release. Here's an excerpt:      “What’s going on here?”      He

Who loves a sale? This girl does! (Thanks to Kimberly Radicy-Rocha from the Book Obsessed Chicks for taking this pic at the NJRWA conference--which was super fun!) So if you love a sale and you love to read romance, then you've got to get over to Amazon for their Big Deal sale!  We're talking about some awesome books that are on sale now for only $1.99! That's like getting three books for the price of one.  Can you say awesome? As fate would have it, myself and some of the Casababes have books in the Big Deal sale- - which runs through 10/27!  There's a little something for everyone so come on by and get whatever tickles your pleasure. Love sexy vampires? How about werewolves? How about a regency era romance? Some historical romance? So what are you waiting for? Swing on over and grab any or all of these books for only $1.99 each!! Barnes and Noble is also offering the sale price so you can get them

Last week I turned in the second book to my new series, Rival Rogues, and I'm just now hitting that sweet spot where I can finally sit back and relax for a bit. Every time I finish a book, it takes me a few days to shake the sense I should be writing instead of goofing around. (Does anyone remember feeling that way after finals in school?) As soon as reality sets in that the book is really finished, all those things on my to-do list start screaming for me to pay attention to them. Groceries, laundry, errands, emails to answer, calls to return, appointments I've been avoiding... And then once I've whittled down the list, blessed freedom comes. I know it's short-lived, because soon there will be revisions to make, a blogging tour, and another book to write, but I've learned to appreciate this time and use it to recharge. Here are some of the ways I've been enjoying my time off: 1) Playing "Just Dance 4" on the Wii with my daughter. We had a blast

I have to start with the bad news first, and I hate posting anything negative on any blog, so I'll make it quick. I lost my dear Chihuahua, Precious, last month, due to a breathing condition pretty much brought about by old age. She died in my arms, and it about broke my heart. I loved that little dog.   I knew no other dog could replace her, but I began to look at rescue dogs, cause it somehow felt as if her death would be more meaningful if it brought about a loving home for another dog who really needed one. And so we found Pikachu, a Chihuahua mix, (and I keep guessing as to the other part. She has soft fluffy hair, so I'm thinking Pomeranian?) Anyway, she had a rough start, barely escaping euthanasia. Her rescue name was Fergie, and if you have the stomach for it, you can read about her journey here: http://www.homeanimalrescue.com/litter1.html#top I found her on the following website, and it was such a thrill to see the words ADOPTED, and know that I

By Cheryl Brooks Earlier this week, Ashlyn Chase talked about the secret to getting published. Unfortunately, getting "The Call" is only the first step in the long road to seeing your book on the shelf. I accepted the offer for Cat Star #10, Rascal , last July. I'd submitted the proposal, which consisted of two chapters and a bare-bones synopsis. Then I wrote the book. I sent the finished manuscript to my editor on the March 1, 2013 deadline. Near the end of March, I was asked for the launch materials, which include a fifty word positioning statement, a 250 word synopsis, a full synopsis of 2500 words or less, my biography, and character descriptions. I sent those back near the beginning of April. Didn't hear much until near the end of April when I was told the title had been changed to Renegade and the book would be released in July 2014. Apparently they wanted something more "alpha male-sounding" than Rascal. Some of you may recall that Renegade

Me, checking out a future roads project Let's hope orange isn't really the new black because orange suits very few people (I’m not one of those people, I know this because I’ve worn my share of fluorescent vests for the day job). However I think I’d look good in a Tough Mudder headband, so in 10 days I will be slogging my through 20km of obstacles earning a coveted orange headband.   Now he looks good in orange ;) While I’m in my final week of training you could be going in the draw to win an ARC of this lovely orange book, Lord of the Hunt .  These two seemingly unrelated orange things actually have a lot on common. Me. Orange. Guys with muscles (I’m sure there will be plenty at Tough Mudder). A start, an end…there will probably even be a black moment about 15 km in where I feel like giving up because I’ll never make it… But you don’t have to crawl through mud, jump in an ice bath or get zapped to win an ARC all you have to do is leave a comment (I know,