Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

When I first started writing THE ASSASSIN’S LOVER I knew I had a difficult task. The world of THE ELVEN LORDS is a magical land, and because of this my characters find themselves in an unusual situation, but the feelings had to be real. The heart and soul of my two characters had to be exposed in just one night, and the blossoming of love had to be felt. In just one night.                        In most of my books love grows over time, through a sharing of thoughts and actions; that tell my two characters they are meant for each other. But this story was different…I had to somehow take my characters through situations that could reveal their hearts and souls enough to fall in love in just one night. I have written several blog posts where I go on a musical journey, by finding songs that portray scenes from my books, and so I go to Youtube and search for lyrics with ...

by Cheryl Brooks I finally had a full day to write this week, and I was surprised at how many words I was able to add to my current WIP, although I shouldn't have been. There was a time when I was cranking out a 90K word book every four months, and that was while I was working full time. Granted, it nearly drove me insane, but I did it. Somehow. After quitting the full time nursing gig in three years ago, you'd think I would have been putting out four books a year. But instead, I've been catching up on all the things I'd been neglecting for years, my family included. I've been home for holidays that I used to have to work, and I've been more active in my local RWA chapter. The only drawback is that saying no is a lot harder to do when you don't have work to use as an excuse. As a result of that inability to say no, I haven't been home for more than a couple of weeks before packing my bags and heading somewhere else since April. Ordinarily, I enjoy ...

Summer is over in the Galen household. In your part of the world, you might be stretching the season to Labor Day, but we have gone back to school. My daughter began Kindergarten this year. She loves it, and I love it too. We can walk to school, she’s making new friends, and I have time to work. I always like to go on a mother-daughter end of summer trip, and last week my princess and I were in San Antonio with a friend and her daughter. This little girl was beginning middle school. I asked how she felt, and she said, “Nervexcited.” That’s a great description of how I always felt before a new school year. It’s how I feel before a book release! My big day is September 1. The Rogue You Know comes out, and I’m so nervexcited . I want everyone to love it and buy it and add it to their keeper shelves. My daughter’s biggest fear about Kindergarten was that she wouldn’t make any friends. An author’s biggest fear about a book release is that no one notices. One thing ...

If you’ve met me for five minutes (or if you read my tweets) you’ll know I have a mad pash for reality TV. For years, my husband has chided me as I sit and faithfully live tweet Real Housewives and Southern Charm. I’d tweet more shows, but I usually record them and watch them as time permits. Recently, I started contributing to All About The Tea , a reality website that shares recaps, scoops, and news about my favorite reality shows. So far, I’ve recapped Housewife blogs, which I LOVE because sometimes those ladies go wild as they try to explain away their behavior for the week. I don’t know why I’m drawn to reality TV. I think in another life I would have been a cultural anthropologist. That’s sort of what this is like—watching rich, semi-famous women in their somewhat natural habitat. Now I know a lot of the storylines are there for our viewing pleasure, but often you get real moments. Poignant moments. You see the good and bad in everyone. And I don’t believe yo...

I recently had a book signing in Salem, MA. It went well even though my books were pricier trade paperbacks. They were about witches, so I was appealing to the right audience. Not all of the shoppers at Magika on Pickering Way were witches. Many were tourists, curious about all the hoopla that made Salem famous in the first place. Oddly enough, the women hanged as witches in the late 1600's weren't witches at all. They were victims of fear and mass hysteria. Today's witches are nothing to fear either. In fact, they're all about making the world a better place--as are the witches in my new novels.     A craft is something creative. It’s also something that requires practice. Authors create and practice their craft each time they write a story—Wiccans may draw a magic circle and put an intention out to the universe as part of practicing their craft. The term 'witch' came from our pagan ancestors and means 'wise woman.' Their #1 rule is:...

The cover for the new release coming Feb 2016!!! Love it!  It's also set in the winter like the next few stories. http://www.amazon.com/SEAL-Wolf-Too-Deep-Heart/dp/1492621838 Don’t you guys all wish you had those abs? And, ladies, don’t you also? If he was yours, I mean, of course. lol :) My dad used to say, “Yeah, but when they get older, those muscles all turn to flab.” I’m over halfway done on Covert Cougar Christmas! It's coming out with a megaton of paranormal authors. Excited! It's Alphas Unwrapped. And my story in it: Coming Dec 1! But before that: A Silver Wolf Christmas! http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Wolf-Christmas-Heart/dp/1492609501 I'm so tired of the heat and so ready for the cool that these stories really appeal! 100's for the rest of the month and through September. :(  And NO rain! Then I need to get cracking on the jaguar Christmas story!! New Peacock Bear And New Blue and Purple Bubblegum Bear Purple Bub...

In historical westerns four things are always in every story – Hats (Stetsons usually,) Guns, Horses and Boots. Not necessarily in that order. But who were the early bootmakers? The first boots, and maybe the forerunner of the western boot, were reportedly worn by Genghis Kahn way back in the Mongol Empire. He wore a pair of red boots with wooden heels. But definitely the Wellington boots worn in 17th and 18th centuries of England were a precursor of the cowboy boots. They rode high on the leg, had a low heel and were made of the same four part construction as cowboy boots.  Soldiers in the Civil War preferred them and when they went home from the war, they took their boots with them. NEW BOOTS One on the earliest known bootmakers was Charles Hyer in Olathe, Kansas in 1872. He and his brother Edward founded the Hyer Brothers Boot Company and outfitted many a trail driver. Down here in Texas as the cattle drives accelerated, bootmakers popped up in the towns a...

Being silly is technically defined as: "a ludicrous folly” or sometimes just “stupidity.” Think of funny voices and slipping on a banana peel. Freud considered it part of our fun-loving id. One psychologist has recently suggested that it helps us deal with depression. One of my favorite examples of a pure silly moment is the slapping fish dance. There are advantages of silliness. For example, think of Patch Adams and the clowns that lift the spirits of sick people at local hospitals. Or the subway riders who mark a day to ride without their pants making a lot of people smile. What is wrong with a smile? As someone who really enjoys comedic writing, my favorite 19 th century authors include Jerome K. Jerome, and P.G. Wodehouse. Thanks to Three Men in a Boat , I cannot open a can of pineapples without dissolving into laughter. My absolute favorite comedy piece is by Ian Frazer published in The New Yorker Magazine in 1990. It is the lawsuit brought by Wylie C...