Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

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: Anita Clenney Christmas is upon us and the end of the year is fast approaching. What a year it's been for me. Making my first sale, achieving my dream. I've gone through revisions, edits, copy edits, and now it's in the capable hands of my publisher. I'm finished with my part of the creation so it feels like I've reached an end, but it really isn't. As all of you know, probably even better than me, there is still a lot of work to do. In fact, some would stay the work has just begun. Promotion, more writing, more promotion. Endings are usually just a starting point for something else. Death is the beginning of eternity. Fall is the just the earth resting so it can blossom bigger and brighter next year. One day's end starts another. When I finish a book, I know it isn't the end for those characters. They'll be back, helping the current hero and heroine solve their dilemmas, so I can move on to the next hero and heroine. I'm finishing the second...