Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

One day in July 2008 I walked into the lobby of the Marriott in San Francisco and encountered something terrifying. Hitting me like a shockwave was the cacophony of hundreds of voices coming from the hundreds of women gathered in one place to celebrate the romance novel. It was the Romance Writers of America National Conference and this non-RWA member was in town to meet her publicist and editor for the first time. My debut novel was scheduled for release some eight months in the future and up to that moment I had never spoken with another author let alone actually met one. I was absolutely terrified. By the end of the next day I not only had met my editor and publicist, the amazing Deb Werksman and Danielle Jackson respectively, but also my publisher Dominique Raccah - that being a breathtaking surprise I never anticipated. Adding to the surprises in store for me was the wonder of community among romance novelists (I joined the RWA immediately upon returning home), the feeling of be...

Wait! TWO?! You betcha baby!! I am hitting the jackpot this month! Both In the Arms of Mr. Darcy and A Darcy Christmas are released in October. Yippee!! First let’s say Hoo-rah for the fourth volume in my Darcy Saga series ~ Isn’t it pretty? I may be a tad prejudiced but I think it is gorgeous! I have loved all of my covers but this one is truly perfect. The dancing scene may not be purely Regency as far as attire but I love it, especially since there are two balls of significance within the story. And this particular Mr. Darcy portrait is my favorite. Don’t you love how handsome and regal he is? Note how he is overlooking the scene with In the Arms of Mr. Darcy scrolled below his commanding face. *sigh I am busy ripping up the internet-waves on my big virtual tour. This is actually my third release celebration! I have almost lost count. Luckily I have it written down on my Calendar of Events page and on my Blog . Numerous copies of my latest novel are up for grabs, some sig...

Just a few years ago I would not have been able to define what a blog was. The ones that I had heard of were personal blogs that friends had and it made no sense to me whatsoever. I mean, who cares about my kids or wants to read my opinion on the TV show I watched last night? And why in the world would I waste my time writing about my job or the book I read? That was all a “blog” meant to me. I know there are still many of those types of blogs out there and I do scratch my head over it a little. But I also know the power of the internet better than I did several years ago and I realize how essential blogs are as a way to communicate with people far and wide. Now I am very thankful that people start blogs as a way to chat about books since more and more readers are making choices based on what a favorite, trusted blog had to say about it. I am overwhelmingly grateful that blog owners open their sites to authors, allowing this unknown person to come on and spout off about their books. ...

"They are all of one mind, their hearts are set upon song, and their spirit is free from care. He (she) is happy whom the Muses love. For though man (woman) has sorrow and 
grief in his soul, when the Muses sing, at once he forgets his dark thoughts 
and remembers not his troubles. Such is the holy gift of the Muses." Hesiod Once upon a time it was a universal belief that creativity in the areas of art, poetry, philosophy, music, dancing, writing, science, and history was inspired by the goddesses known as the Muses. Greek mythology originally referred to three goddesses born to Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, but very early on the number was increased to nine. Legends vary, as legends always do, but the existence of the Muses was part of oral history for centuries before the Greeks indelibly immortalized them in poetry and written myths. According to the prevailing legends, the muses were brought to life to make the world disremember the evil, relieve t...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Every American school child is required to memorize these lines penned by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. I remember agonizing over them, practicing endlessly so that I could stand before the class and say them aloud. We had to get every syllable correct or we would fail our government class and then – gasp – not graduate! Oh the pressure! Shaking in a cold-sweat terror of nervousness I remember, but I don’t remember the nitty-gritty analysis of what these words actually mean. Do you? I am sure we did study the history but over time we develop our own concepts of “liberty” and “life” and that tricky one: “the pursuit of happiness.” As I thought about what brings me happiness for this month’s blog theme, it was easy to make a list. Yet I found myself wonderin...

No, I have not been afflicted with brain-melt due to the San Joaquin Valley heat and projected my mind forward 6 months in a desperate attempt to cool down! I know it is summertime and that is our theme. But for me, since I do live a good portion of my time in a world 200 years in the past, I began thinking about what summertime meant for the English elite of the Regency Era. And that boils down to one common phrase: The Season . The English custom of the elite in society passing months in London rather than their country homes began somewhere in the 17th century and continued to dominate the culture until well after WWI. Roughly coinciding with the sitting of Parliament, the official Season launched in earnest after Easter and ran until August when Parliament adjourned. The purpose was originally a time for the aristocracy and landed gentry to gather in Town to discuss politics and workings of State, but quickly evolved into a period of socialization and entertainment. Events such as ...

We are counting down our month of celebrating motherhood and exploring the new beginnings in our lives. Next up are the fabulous launch parties for Lydia Dare (Again girls? You must be exhausted!), Shana Galen, and Ashlyn Chase. After that we will spend the entire glorious month of June delving into SUMMERTIME!! I know I am ready for summer and all the fun to be had. But for now I am forced to write about new beginnings. LOL! Ok, only joking as it is a wonderful topic and the blogs have been enlightening, encouraging, and entertaining. Yet I have to say that I have been scratching my head over what to talk about. Writing wise I am finishing up my fifth novel – tentative title The Trouble with Mr. Darcy due for release in April 2011 in case you were curious about that, hehehe…. Actually, it is done, although I haven’t typed The End as yet because I have to go over the whole thing at least one more time before I will feel it is truly DONE, ya know? My next project is already half way...

This past Mother’s Day was lovely as my husband and children pampered with gifts and food. However, it was also sad since I lost my own mom in September. My sister and I planned a long chat to reminisce and cry, but in the end neither of us picked up the phone! I suppose it isn’t a surprise then that I am not feeling overly inspired to talk about the topic of motherhood as it applies to me. Thankfully I realized my blog date falls smack dab between our May themes of motherhood and new beginnings. Of course, many of the aspects involving motherhood include new beginnings – which is why we chose these themes – so it isn’t difficult to span the gap between the two. So I have decided to approach these themes as they relate to my novels and the world of Jane Austen. Even a cursory glance at the mothers who inhabit Austen’s novels would lead to the conclusion that the only good mother to be found is a dead one! In Northanger Abbey Austen wrote in an explanation on the qualities of Catherine...

Two guys walked into a bar , no wait, it’s a priest and a rabbi entered a bar , um, no that’s a cop and a monkey are in a car and the monkey says, um… OK, I can’t remember jokes for the life of me. Five minutes after the punch line I would be hard pressed to retell the joke to someone else, and if I did remember how it went I would not be able to deliver it right. Guess I am just not a funny gal. Sarcastic, yes, and witty at times, but not funny. Some people are born with the gift. My sister’s second husband could have made millions as a stand up comedian. He was, hand’s down, the funniest person I have ever known. Watching a B-movie with him was a hysterical experience! He had the gift. His son, my nephew, inherited that gift and is almost as funny as his dad. One thing I learned hanging around with the jokesters of our family is not only will you have a great time, but everyone becomes funny! It is like the funny-aura oozes out and infects those surrounding until we are all bursting...

We are closing out our month long discussion of traveling and that is rather sad. I have SO enjoyed hearing of the wonderful places both domestic and foreign that the CasaBabes have visited over the years. I have, I confess, been a wee bit jealous upon occasion as I have only ventured outside of US borders twice in my lifetime, and that was only to Mexico! Fun, believe me, and somewhat exotic, but give me Greece any day! Or even Brazil, right Cheryl? LOL! Cheryl’s tongue-in-cheek blog 2 days ago (scroll down) had us virtually traveling to some stunningly gorgeous locales without concern for packing the sunscreen or appropriate clothing. I mean, I have traveled through parts of the American West, heck I live in the American West, and my Native American experiences have never been THAT good! So, super stud hunk muffins aside, if I could go anywhere with money not an object – we are still in dreaming mode apparently – Where would I go? 1. England. “Naturally,” you say in a sarcastic ton...

by Sharon Lathan “Elizabeth, ….. forced herself to speak; and immediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand that her sentiments had undergone so material a change,…. The happiness which this reply produced, was such as he had probably never felt before; and he expressed himself on the occasion as sensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can be supposed to do.” The above quote is from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice and is one of my favorites. I really wish we could pick Jane’s brain and discover just what she imagined as how Mr. Darcy expressed being “violently in love.” Most likely, considering the Era, he waxed eloquently and poetically, and at most grasped her hand. In fact, given the following sentences in the novel I suppose we can be fairly certain he did not bodily embrace Lizzy and plant a long wet kiss! Still, it is fun to dream and clever Jane did leave it open for entertaining interpretation. What I do appreciate about that quote and all the car...

Yes, I know you are now humming the 1978 song by John Paul Young and that is fantastic! Mission accomplished! Love is definitely in the air amongst the Casablanca authors. Turn up the volume, click play, and enjoy the show while you read on….. Aah, l’amour! Sourcebooks has ushered in 2010 with a burst of enthusiasm for their ever-expanding romance and fiction line. Here at the Casablanca blogspot we plan to embrace that enthusiasm fully. And what better way to begin than talking about LOVE! February is the month of love and we plan to celebrate the emotion in our unique voices as the days unfold. This single four-letter word encompasses a vast array of sentiments and experiences. We love love! We love to write about love! We love to share that love of love with our readers, whom we love! LOL! We love our blog! In May of 2008 this fine blog was begun by Linda Wisdom, Terry Spear, Marie Force, Loucinda McGary, Mary Margret Daughtridge, Cheryl Brooks, Robin Kaye, Michele Ann Young, and C...

I have been thoroughly enjoying myself these past weeks with writing fun blogs as part of the book tour for My Dearest Mr. Darcy . As we all know, occasionally we are given interview questions or a specific topic to touch upon. That is nice for a fried brain, but I like it when I have free reign! Since history is such a huge part of my novels, I inevitably veer toward enlightening on some intriguing slice of the past. I thought I would do that again, so am going to share what I learned about seaside bathing in the Regency. For centuries the touted benefits of breathing deeply of sea air and “taking the waters” were loudly proclaimed. Whether it was cold ocean water or warm mineral spas, bathing in and drinking of the water was deemed wise and downright miraculous. Personally, the thought of diving into the frigid waters surrounding England sounds insane! These people must have been tough. Mineral spas, such as in Matlock and Bath, were typically designed with private rooms for ...