Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Please welcome fellow Sourcebooks Casablanca Author AMANDA USEN back to the blog! This time we're celebrating the release of her second "foodie" romance, Luscious .  I am over-the-moon thrilled to announce the release of Luscious , my second culinary romance! The kitchen adventures continue as a newly divorced Olivia takes off for Italy with her high school not-quite sweetheart hot on her trail. Sean rejected her indecent proposal a few months ago when she was married, but now that she’s free, he’s determined to take her up on her offer. Wherever. Whenever. Italy would be perfect. Sean is determined to do whatever it takes to convince her to return to Norton with him…anything except break her heart. Anybody who has read my debut, Scrumptious , knows I love heartbreakers, I truly do. Give me a hero or heroine who is hard to catch and even harder to keep, and I’ll read for hours. But in Luscious , Olivia doesn’t want a heartbreaker. She just got rid of a fast...

By: Leah Hultenschmidt, Senior Editor So what exactly do Eric Northman (True Blood), Tim Riggins (Friday Night Lights) and Don Draper (Mad Men) have in common? Besides being hot? They're all bad boys. We all know there's just something about that bad boy. The best heroes in romance novels all have a bit of bad-boy in them. Why the enduring appeal? 1. The element of danger. With a bad boy, you never quite know what you're going to get. He's unpredictable. There's a risk in placing your trust with him because you're not totally sure he's worthy of it. I mean, deep down you know he is...right? He doesn't conform to society and makes no apologies about it. He's exciting and adventurous and he ups the thrill for whoever he's with. 2. For the right woman, he is redeemable. Everyone else sees him as a rogue, a danger, someone to beware. But for just the right heroine who can see the good at heart, he is loyal and...

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 ...