Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

In many historical romances, there's a point at which characters write. We all know the drill: ink, paper, quill, sand. The process of writing usually isn't as significant as what's written. But what if it were? Based on my experience using a metal calligraphy pen (since I'm left-handed, it went about this well ), I wrote the following passage in my first Matchmaker romance, IT TAKES TWO TO TANGLE . In this scene, the hero, Henry, is attempting to write left-handed after an injury to his right arm. He sat at the desk, and with his left hand, he wrenched open the inkwell. Ink spattered onto the painted wood of the desk and speckled his hand. “Damn it,” he muttered. This blunder slightly damped the pleasure of answering Caro’s letter. Ink was the devil to clean up. He dipped a quill that felt shaped wrongly against the curve of his hand. His unpracticed fingers shivered once the pen took on its load of ink, and black blobbed onto the page. No matter. He was ju...

Last week, my five-year-old daughter--known online as Little Miss R--was on spring break. We had playdates. We went to the park and the library. We covered the driveway with elaborate chalk drawings. We made sheaves of art. And she built fort after fort out of my paperbacks, continuing a family tradition . "This is a doll of me," said Little Miss R. "Or you. We both have brown hair." The 85th time I tried to cram in a few minutes of work while she constructed a romance-novel ziggurat next to my desk, we wound up having a rather humbling interview. Since I was at my computer, I typed it all out: TR: What’s my job? LMR: Your job is to make books. TR: What kind of books? LMR: Books where the people get girlfriends and boyfriends because they love each other. TR: Do you like that kind of story? LMR: Um…no. They’re way too hard to read. And there’s lots of kissing and I don’t like that. But I like the covers. The covers ...

Two weeks ago today, my brother got married. Brother R and his new bride—who has instructed me to call her either “Master Ninja R” or “Mrs. Brother R” on the Internet—are medical residents on the east coast, and they had about 5 minutes* off of work in which to get married. Family and friends traveled there safely, the wedding was beautiful, we all danced at the reception, the cake was delicious. So much for the good news. But there were some weird bits, too—and those, my friends, are the ones I will share with you today. 1. My dad is one of eight siblings, and they all eight of them gathered at the house of one of my aunts. Since I was tooling around eating boudin while they all practiced wedding music, I thought I’d make myself useful by boiling up a batch of candy. This take on pralines is something of a family tradition. Slight problem: my aunt possesses a gas stove. I had never used a gas stove before in my life. It makes FLAMES IN THE HOUSE YOU GUYS. My c...

Hi, everyone! Yesterday was the official on-sale date of my first Sourcebooks romance, IT TAKES TWO TO TANGLE . So far it’s been a wild and wonderful ride: spotting the book on the shelves for the first time and seeing it featured by one of my favorite authors, Eloisa James , who called it “a beautifully written novel that balances laughter with healing.” Here’s a little summary of the story: WOOING THE WRONG WOMAN… Henry Middlebrook is back from fighting Napoleon, ready to re-enter London society where he left it. Wounded and battle weary, he decides that the right wife is all he needs. Selecting the most desirable lady in the ton, Henry turns to her best friend and companion to help him with his suit… IS A TERRIBLE MISTAKE… Young and beautiful, war widow Frances Whittier is no stranger to social intrigue. She finds Henry Middlebrook courageous and manly, unlike the foppish aristocrats she is used to, and is inspired to exercise her considerabl...