Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Hello! My name is Terri Austin and this is my first Casablanca Authors blog post. Woot! I’m thrilled to be here and thought I’d take this opportunity to share a little bit about myself and my upcoming release, His Every Need—the first book in the Beauty and the Brit series.     When I was twelve-years-old two things happened: I fell hard for all things British, and I read my first romance novel— Marriage Impossible by Margaret Pargeter--which got me hooked on happily ever afters. (Bonus: Crazy Hawaiian shirt alert, y’all!) Britain and romance became lifelong obsessions. Throughout my teen years I scoured my small, local library for British authors. Not an easy task in the days of yore (before the world wide interwebs reigned and card catalogues still roamed the earth), but I managed. Inhaling books like oxygen, I read everything from Jane Austen to E.M. Forester. Harlequin became my go-to for romance and Agatha Christie gave me an education, not only in red her...

You know the saying that's supposed to make change easier? When one door closes, another one opens That's a good one and so true, but I need one to carry me through the transition time. I've lived in southern California all my life (except for two brief periods eons ago). Now, my family is moving cross country. We're excited about this move, yet... We're leaving the only home my youngest son has ever known. We're leaving with a high school student in the middle of high school. We're leaving a home that has been the longest I've ever lived in one place (13 years). But, we're gaining a lot in the process. Our boys have surprised us with their cheerful willingness to roll up their sleeves and pitch in with the undesirable tasks (cleaning a barbeque inside and out...and not a single complaint). My husband and I have figured out quickly what's important and what's not. This one makes me laugh: We've also learned out how t...

Each year at Book Expo America, I think that we can’t possibly top last year, but I’ll say once again that we had the best BEA in the history of Sourcebooks.  BEA 2014 In past years, agents have sometimes expressed surprise at Sourcebooks’ breadth (“I didn’t know you published Romance and Children’s Books, and Women’s Fiction, and Study Aids, and YA…”). This year the agents were thoroughly familiar with Sourcebooks and how successful we are.  We met with so many literary agents and other industry professionals who pitched many promising projects that we are actively pursuing. Everyone was very excited to meet with us and stay a while in our exceptional booth. Melanie and Suzanne Brockmann I saw that the agent community is working hard to keep abreast of and understand the numerous changes in the marketplace. Across the board, we all agreed that a robust and multifaceted publishing industry is best for everyone. This includes the importance of...

I'm just back from my fourth visit to Scotland, where I gathered inspiration for new books, had some fun, and yes, I did drink me some fine whisky. Did you know there's a Scotch Malt Whisky Society , and they vet samples from distilleries all over Scotland, choosing the finest of the finest for our delectation? Prior to this trip, neither did I. I also didn't know how to hear the difference between a Glaswegian Scottish burr (from Glasgow), and one from Edinburgh. These cities are about 45 miles apart--an hour's drive at most--and the people sound entirely different to each other. Each city has stereotyped the others' inhabitants (Glaswegians are friendly but they're all named Jimmy, the folk from Auld Reekie are reserved), and while Glasgow is twice the size of Edinburgh, Edinburgh has the busier airport. I didn't know that you can camp anywhere in Scotland legally. Anywhere. Go ahead, Occupy Scotland--plenty of people do. I didn't know that t...

I didn't make it to RT this year, but I did attend Lori Foster's Reader and Author Get Together in Cincinnati earlier this month. If you've never been, I highly recommend you put it on your calendar for next June. Space is limited, so you have to be ready to sign up as soon as registration opens, but it's worth it for the chance to mingle with authors and readers alike in a relaxed, comfortable, fun atmosphere. This was my fourth year, and I had a fabulous time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. The event raised over $17,000 to benefit One Way Farm this year, which means a lot of dedicated readers were buying an amazing number of raffle tickets. This was my first time putting together a gift basket, and I had a hard time figuring out a way to cram in all of my books plus a few other goodies. I spent ages in Michael's craft store picking out ribbons and bags and a nifty little butterfly pin that I was afraid might get lost, but I thought the finished result w...

I'm pretty excited about the RWA National conference in San Antonio. It's only a month away! If you're a reader, you should attend the huge multi-author booksigning on Wednesday, July 23 at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter Hotel in the 3rd floor ballroom. Admission is free, and all proceeds benefit literacy programs. If you're an author, get out of the hotel and see some of San Antonio. It's a fabulous city. It's only three hours from Houston, so I've been many times. The Riverwalk is always fun. There's lots of shopping, lots of history, and fun things for the kids too like the Alamo and the Children's Museum. But you know what's not fun? SeaWorld. If you're going to San Antonio and bringing the family, think twice before going to SeaWorld. I've never been a fan of SeaWorld. Whales and dolphins weren’t put on this earth to dance in pools to synchronized Christmas music. You don’t even have to believe in God or a higher power t...