Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Michaelmas Daisies As a writer of historical romances—most set in Victorian England—I find I have to pay close attention to the calendar. Not just the modern American calendar with which I’ve grown up, but the British calendar too: all the rituals, traditions, and observances that are part of their culture and heritage.   So, in that spirit, Happy Michaelmas! One of the annual quarter days, Michaelmas is observed on September 29 and marks the end of the harvest and the start of the year’s accounting. It also marks the onset of autumn, the beginning of the fall terms at British schools and universities, and the opening of the law courts. Blackberry Pie (Devilishly Good?) According to custom, special foods are eaten at Michaelmas, like bannocks and “stubble goose.” And a Michaelmas pie is often made from the last blackberries of the season, which are not picked thereafter, owing to the legend of the devil cursing the fruit after St. Michael expelled him from heaven a...

The last book in my Covent Garden Cubs series, I Kissed a Rogue, is now out in the world. I'm a little sad to see this series end, but then again, in my mind my series never really end. The characters live on (and sometimes even generate new stories!). I'd been waiting to write Brooks's story from the first time he stepped on the page in the Viscount of Vice novella. Brook is the son of an earl and an investigator for hire. Why? Why hasn't he chosen the usual rode for a second born son? Why has he embraced a profession that drives him into the slums of London? And why is he so good at what he does? What drives Brook? Love or hate or maybe a bit of both? I got to know Brook a little better in each successive book in the series, but he still had some surprises for me in I Kissed a Rogue . I love all of my heroes, but I thought it might be fun to see who readers identified the most with. So who's your match? Click here to find out more about Brook and rea...

by M. L. Buchman You know that insulation that you squirt in and it just sort of expands?  Yep! My Night Stalkers series just keeps doing that to me. So I've spent the last few weeks trying to figure out how to explain to myself (never mind my readers) just what the heck is going on in my world of danger and true love among the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR). I think I finally got a handle on it mostly. What made me really think about it was that I had two recent releases (April and May), both in that world and neither in the main series(es). That makes an author spend some time thinking. THE NEW RELEASES This great anthology (in many ways, 472pp) of 8 original military romance novellas by a stunning cast of authors is to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. All profits are going to this great charity to aid disabled veterans. Buy it for that reason alone if no other. In my story NSDQ  (short for the Night Stalkers unofficial motto: "Night ...

And a lovely review from Pure Jonel! http://purejonel.blogspot.ca/2015/02/JaguarPride.html My Review: This novel is a fantastic mix of action and romance. Spear writes in a manner that allows you to easily picture yourself standing in the midst of the action. She involves her readers in every aspect of the mission her characters embark on. Spear’s hot bedroom scenes leave you drooling. This all makes the unique and unforgettable plot of the story shine through. This author’s fantastic storytelling and fluid writing style top it all off. This author has definitely nailed shifters as characters, creating a brilliant cast for this novel. She makes these shifters so very real. Not only is it easy to imagine how these individuals can exist among us without our knowledge, the individuals that we get to meet are just plain intriguing. Both the male and the female leads are strong individuals who embrace every part of who they are. They were also fun, approachable peo...

Over the last 12 months I had the opportunity to work on two continuities. One I was invited to join (and which I can’t say more about until the big announcement…but it is contemporary). The other I kind of started because I had an idea for a sci-fi romance series that would be fun to write with other people. Both were totally different experiences as for the first there was a story bible, and for the second— ES Siren series —we had to make it up as we went along.  Both were (or in the case of Siren which is ongoing, are) lots of fun and something different to sitting there at the computer plugging away at a novel in your own world.  The ES Siren series is set in the reasonably near future, yet far enough in the future that humans have established a research base on another habitable planet. This is a good thing as big business ended up winning/bribing their way into power and the Earth is heavily polluted.  Those couple of sentences took many, many emails to wo...

by M. L. Buchman I think in series. I have friends who think in short stories. They write these charming little encapsulations of a moment, so polished and precious and refined that each is a joyous nibble. (Almost every short story I used to submit to workshops or anthologies was returned with a simple note: "This isn't a short story, it's the synopsis for a novel. Now go write it.") For a while, I thought in single novels. One growing arc following a character, and those around her (I write predominantly from the woman's point of view -don't know why, always have). Even in my fantasy and science fiction, there is usually a love interest along for the ride, but it is then just that couple's journey. Then a strange thing began happening. Short stories that I submitted to workshops or had friends read started coming back with a new note on the rejections: "This isn't a short story, it's a synopsis for a series. I want to read this series...

Tom's story is here! Are you the baby of the family? A middle child who's just in the middle? The firstborn and in charge? Even if the age differences are only by a few minutes? Tom is the youngest of the triplet Silver brothers and fans have been waiting for his story forever. The question was raised in the first two books, Heart of the Wolf and Destiny of the Wolf, as to which came first: red wolves or gray wolves. And so, I did some research to answer this question. I think that's one of the most fun things I get to do when I'm writing a book--research. It's also fun for me to write about characters based on birth order. In the Heart of the Highland Wolf series, Duncan MacNeill is the baby, so he makes up for this by being a rough and gruff warrior. When he's on a mission, that's all he thinks about. In A Howl for a Highland Wolf, no way does he think a pretty she-wolf, sassy enough to wear a lot of silver, and single, is going to sidetrack him. ...

 I'll be seeing the wolves in Minnesota, and visiting them in Nebraska.  And the jaguars all over the place. I've got these releases: 1st up Silence of the Wolf, which will be here before you know it the first week in March! Jaguar Hunt: June, Hero of a Highland Wolf: Aug. And the last one in October to add some Highland wolfishness to your Christmas! I'll be in Chicago at a conference, and signing books, seeing a Medieval dinner theater, and the zoo, and signing books at book stores. Next up is RT in New Orleans where I'll be at a historical pirate wenches affair as one of the hosts, and pinning the kilt on a Highlander at the end of the convention. Then I'm going to Scotland for a different driving tour of the castles and such! And San Antonio for Nationals. Then it's time for Raleigh, NC for Authors After Dark, and then seeing a friend in Asheville and the Biltmore Estate. And a research trip to Minnesota and the Internation...

More than once this year, Lydia Dare’s Facebook status has read “My two favorite words in the English language are ‘The End’.” The update is usually followed by a heavy sigh, a super feeling of contentment, and brewing excitement about what’s coming next. However, we’ve never actually typed “The End” at the end of any of our books. We think readers can tell the end has come for two very important reasons. (1) There are no more pages to turn, which is always a fabulous clue. (2) After finishing 400 pages, readers should be thoroughly satisfied that our hero and heroine will now live happily ever after. “The End” will never happen, because the story will go on and on and on, despite the fact that it’s officially over. Besides, that’s what epilogues are for, right? The reader (and the writer) gets to take a quick peek into the future. It might be a few months or a few years later. It’s usually just enough for us to make certain there is still happiness in paradise. Ah, the epilogue – wher...