Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

by Danielle Jackson (soon to be Dresser) As you are reading this post, I will actually be basking in the sun on my HONEYMOON! In light of my recent wedding, and for an end of the week pick me up, I thought I'd share some of my favorite wedding scenes from movies: Sense and Sensiblity has always been my favorite of Austen's books, and this movie version by Ang Lee is also my favorite adaptation. The wedding scene at the end is very quick, but I love how each couple's personalities come across: So, this one isn't technically a wedding, but wouldn't you love to be serenaded by Fred Astaire, near a beautiful church, wearing lovely clothes, like Audrey Hepburn's character in Funny Face ? One of my all time favorite movies overall, but I always loved this scene: This next scene, from Love Actually, is actually kind of sad, but I really love how gorgeous Keira Knightley looks in the film--how every bride wants to look! And both actors in this scene do a wo...

by Danielle Jackson Some of you may know this, but in addition to being a publicist at Sourcebooks, I’m an avid baker. I. LOVE. BAKING. Which is sort of a tough hobby to have when you have to fit in a wedding dress pretty soon… but oh well! I still love to bake, and I especially love to share baked goods with friends. I’ve gone as far as to schedule weekly “snack days” in the Sourcebooks PR department. We have a schedule and we all take it VERY seriously. And more often than not, we all make something homemade (though we do not judge store-bought items). The last few years I’ve alternated baking things for family and friends with making crafty items for them. It’s a lot of work, but I think these special handmade—and sometimes edible!—items are really fun. Here are three of my all-time favorite things to bake, and share with people! The photos below are my own :) Mini-Pecan Tarts (from our very own CAROLYN BROWN!) I love these for the Fall—and they are...

By Danielle L. Jackson  Well, I’ve done it—forgot to post on my scheduled blog day on the Casa blog! It happens right? Actually, no, it’s not! You see, as trivial as it seems, I was scheduled to be on the blog on this day, and we all make a pretty good point to post our blogs up early in the morning so all time zones are accommodated. I also made a commitment to the blog to post once a month—how hard can that be? But, Danielle, you have a million things going on… multiple work meetings every day this week, two book clubs, WEDDING PLANNING, a dog to walk, a fiancé to make dinner for, a dinner party to make dessert for, parents to visit, future-in-laws to keep in the loop, a brother across the country threatening to bring a complete stranger to the wedding as his date… missing the blog is ok, ok? No, still not ok. My public image as a trustworthy, hardworking, multitasking senior publicist is on the line. Even on one blog post, or showing up to a local RWA ...

by Danielle Jackson Do you ever go through reading dryspells? I do! More often than I like to admit. In fact, I’m going through one right now… And when I do, I re-read tried and true favorite books and authors of mine. Here are a few that I turn to: Born in Fire by Nora Roberts —so, you guys all know by now that when I was younger, I used to steal my mom’s romance novels and read the dirty parts when I was far too young… but when I was finally a little bit older and slightly less immature (verdict is still out on that one), my mom actually recommended I read Nora Roberts’ Born In Trilogy. The first book, Born In Fire , is SO GOOD. First of all, the heroine is super sassy and a glass blower. Second, the hero is a successful art dealer and hot. Third, it takes place in IRELAND. When I’m looking for reminders about why I love romance, I go to one of the first ones I read and loved from start to finish. Thanks, Mom! Persuasion by Jane Austen— Persuasion was my first A...

by Danielle Jackson, Sourcebooks Senior Publicist  From the flirty Bridget Jones’ Diary to the poignant The Help, women’s fiction is one of those genres that can be both confusing and consuming… And something I’ve learned over the years—women’s fiction readers are very similar to romance readers! We definitely see a crossover in appeal and readership between these two categories. And even though publishers are returning from Book Expo America, touting their big serious books for the Fall, summer is just getting started, and it’s time for those light, fluffy FUN reads. Call ‘em chick lit or beach reads, here are some of Sourcebooks’ latest women’s fiction novels: The Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society Jubilee by Carolyn Brown (March 2013) From our very own Carolyn—a novel of friendship, gossip and the hottest jalapeños in all of Texas! Southern Women’s Fiction The Last Telegram by Liz Trenow (April 2013) A woman looks back on her life working at a silk factory t...