Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

By Michele Summers It doesn’t take much to make me happy these days. Living with a chronic illness really changes your perspective. So I’m always looking for something… anything to brighten my day. These are my latest finds: Let me start by saying, I’ve never been a big believer in vitamins, because I’ve never seen any results positive or negative from consuming them, but I have dutifully choked, gulped, swallowed and chewed them for years. (now, I’m superstitious…if I stop, will something bad happen?) But, I do believe in Biotin . It hasn’t grown hair to my liking, but it sure as hell has grown nails!  I have long, strong, beautiful nails! Haven't had great nails since giving birth to my first child. Better than acrylic nails and much healthier.  I’m giddy with happiness over this. Love hearing them click against the keyboard and love using my index finger to point…just to show off my gorgeous long nail.  I know…it’s the little things. And that lead

Conference season is here yet again, and this year I was fortunate enough to attend RT Booklovers Convention in Dallas. The reason I love RT so much is that readers and writers mingle and bond over what we love most: books.  The romance world is a diverse, wonderful place. Whatever your preferred genre or trope, we’ve got you covered. There’s no judgement here, kids. There’s something for everyone. And that’s what I love about the romance world.  The tiaras Sourcebooks handed out to authors this year were a bonus, because who doesn’t want to wear a tiara? I’d wear one to the dry cleaners if I could pull it off. Seriously.  I had many fangirl moments along the way. I spotted Charlaine Harris three times, but never had the cajones to go up and talk to her. I saw Sandra Brown strolling through the lobby. Like a normal person. I rubbed elbows with Nicole Peeler in the elevator. Literally! And Patricia Briggs bought one of my books at the book fair. (Fangirl moment of the c

Mmm. Bet that tastes good. And gee, he smells like Old Spice! Win win. Today I thought I'd talk about our senses. I'm going through a bout of sinus troubles and haven't been able to smell or taste for two days--and it's killing me. I have a pretty keen sense of smell, and not having that makes the world seem duller. We have five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. All of them combine to paint a vivid picture of any one experience. So when reading a story, and all I come away with is the way everything looks , I feel like I'm reading through a fog. There are details missing that could make that story so much clearer to me. I think it's great that the hero is strong and muscular and handsome. Or the heroine has a nice build and pretty blue eyes. But what does the guy smell like? A cologne? The ocean? A sawmill? If he smells salty like the sea, maybe it's because he's a fisherman or surfer. Does the heroine have a light, lilting voice?

Did you know that the Regency romance, as pretty much invented by Georgette Heyer, is turning eighty this year? The Beau Monde chapter of the Romance Writers of America is celebrating this anniversary with a year-long series of articles about Heyer’s Regency novels, posted in the order of their publication. Rather than standard reviews, these posts range far and wide in the realm of the Regency romance in general. You can see my contribution here , and browse those of many other great writers as well. Romances set in the Regency period have come a long way in those eighty years. I love the way authors are taking advantage of all the things happening outside aristocratic ballrooms for new plots and character types. And of course they’re also adding varying degrees of spice to the love stories – from warm to scorching. I used that latitude in my Regency historical Charmed and Dangerous , being reissued June 2, which takes place in Vienna during the famous cong

I love cooking shows! Chopped is my favorite. Four chefs are presented with four weird ingredients per basket and somehow have to make the ingredients all work together through three rounds including (usually) appetizer, entree, and dessert. If you're the chef who fails to make a harmonious dish, you will hear host Ted say "You've been chopped!" Four goes to three goes to two, and one winner emerges. Fun! I also love Master Chef, which just started a new season, featuring amateur chefs, Hell's Kitchen, and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. I've always liked trying new foods, no matter how weird or different.  I guess it all started when I was a little kid and my grandfather would take me out to dinner to distract me when my older sister got cool party invitations that did not include tagalong me. I would order foods that would astound the grown-ups in my midst. I lived to hear "How old are you, honey? Are you sure you want escargot?" Yes, very

by Susanna Ives As I was visiting friends in Savannah, I received a reminder that I would be blogging on Memorial Day, a day when we honor and remember our brave American soldiers who died in active duty.  Over one million soldiers have lost their lives in U.S. Wars . Our hearts go out to the families of the nearly seven thousand soldiers who perished serving their country in the war on terrorism.  Memorial Day began as Decoration Day after the Civil War. The war between the states cost almost half a million lives.  Savannah was part of that terrible conflict.  So  I decided to head over to the famous Savannah cemetery Bonaventure located on a bluff beside the Wilmington River and take some pictures. Below are images from the American Legion and Spanish American War veterans sections of the cemetery, as well as some veterans of the Civil War and images of the beautiful monuments.   American Legion Field American Legion Field Spanish -American War Veter

I adore the city of Savannah. Every time I go there, I fall in love with it just a little more. The people are friendly, the whole downtown is relaxed and welcoming, and when I'm there, you can find me with a libation in hand, strolling the beautiful shady streets and taking in the historical loveliness. My favorite place in Savannah so far is the beautiful  Owens-Thomas House . One of the most well-preserved Regency homes in the US, this house boasts a beautiful garden as well as a lovely interior. I highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself in the deep South. When you visit this amazing city, you'll see why Sherman decided not to burn it. Ever since Christy English  picked up a fake sword in stage combat class at the age of fourteen, she has lived vicariously through the sword-wielding women of her imagination. Sometimes an actor, always a storyteller, Christy works happily with Sourcebooks Casablanca to bring the knife-throwing women of her novels to l

Not long ago, my daughter (known online as Little Miss R) brought this essay home from her first-grade class. Look at that! I have a cool job! I was pretty delighted by this. This past weekend, LMR picked up a pretty bad virus that kept her home with me for four days straight. To pass the time on one of those days, I decided to interview her. Here's how it went. I typed exactly what she said--except for the end, when she begged me to let her have a turn at the keyboard. *     *     * Me: You’re home today because you’re sick. And I’m home with you because this is where I do my work. What do you know about my work? LMR: You write books. And you write them about ladies in dresses. They all have shiny words on the front. Me: That’s all true. What are your favorite kinds of books? LMR: Ones that are Garfield books and princess books. I like them because there are movies based on them and I like movies that are from books. Me: So you like when you get a l