Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Aye! That's my Highland hero! Imagine my surprise when Declan MacGregor and Lady Liadain Campbell's story was nominated for a 2013 RT Reviewers' Choice award for Best Medieval Romance. Yep, I was thrilled. I had already planned on traveling to New Orleans, LA in May to attend the RT Booklovers' Convention so this nomination was clearly an added bonus.  Funny story about that... My sister is coming with me to the convention, and she was thrilled when she heard that  X Marks the Scot was nominated. However, when my 13 year old daughter found out, she wasn't too happy. She was ticked off at mom because she wanted to travel to New Orleans, too. Not wanting to hear the sob stories of a teenager, I did what any mom would do. I told her that if I win, she could come along. Who would've thought in a million years... And that was the end of it. Nothing more, nothing less. I thought I was the smartest mom in the world. And then I won... I was so excited to he...

By Robin Kaye It’s a virtual party, but in my humble opinion, those are the best kind. You can come in your jammies if you want and no one will snicker at you. There’s no need to dress up or do your hair, and there’s no need to diet for a week before hand. No one will count how many drinks you have, or how many times you visit the dessert bar. We’re all just happy you’re here. We’re so happy in fact that we’re giving away a copy of Breakfast in Bed to a lucky commenter. So come on in, make yourself comfortable, and be sure to make some small-talk to be entered. Here’s an excerpt of Breakfast in Bed : Rich followed her to the kitchen and leaned against the breakfast bar, staring at her as if he could see beneath her clothes. It was unnerving, and she reminded herself of all the reasons she didn't like him. "I know you don't like me much." Becca took a cup from the cabinet. Ah, and he was a mind reader too. "I don't know why, but it doesn't matter." ...

I’ve spent the last three days trapped in a room with two of my critique partners, working on their Golden Heart entries an average of 16 hours a day. We only stopped to eat, although I have to admit we’ve spent a lot of time laughing. We honestly can’t help it. When the three of us get together, we invariably burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter, tears streaming down our faces, unable to breathe, and since we shared a recent cold/bronchitis, we end up coughing too. It ain’t pretty. I met Laura and Deborah, last April at a writer’s retreat. They are sisters and have since adopted me. We were instant friends and soon began meeting and critiquing each others work. They live in my area, and there’s something to be said for meeting at a Starbucks less than a mile away from my house, especially when I spend 18 hours a week driving. They’re relatively new to writing, and working with them on their manuscripts has taught me a great deal. When I began to critique other’s work, something...

By Robin Kaye I’ve been an avid collector of two things for as long as I can remember—Books and music. I’ve kept them with me all my life though seven states, and 35+ moves. When I was younger, I could name every move, in order, and I could have given you the street address too. I’m not sure I’d be able to remember my every move now, but when an old song comes on the radio, or the iPod, I can tell you where I lived when it was popular. It’s the same with books. I know I lived in Mount Laurel, NJ the year Elton John’s Philadelphia Freedom was all the rage and read Judy Blume’s Forever and Louis Nizer’s Reflections Without Mirrors. I lived in Reston, VA when a friend of my mother’s let me hang out at her apartment and read her prized collection of Wizard Of Oz books in exchange for walking her dog every day after school. That was the same year the songs Wildfire and Shannon brought tears to my eyes along with the book, Watership Downs. I read JRR Tolkein’s The Hobbit and Jeffrey Archer’s...

By Robin Kaye with a little help from her friends My pulse raced. I was afraid to breathe as I reached out to take it in my hand. It was hard, smooth, unyielding. I licked my lips in anticipation waiting to take possession. It was mine, all mine. My only regret was that it didn't come with batteries. No, I'm not talking about B.O.B., Romeo, Romeo just won the Golden Leaf Award for Best Single Title! I'm still amazed. Romeo, Romeo was up against two wonderful books, Stolen Fury by Elizabeth Naughton and The Forbidden Daughter by Shobhan Bantwal. Winning awards is great and I've truly been blessed, but when it comes right down to it, every time I get fan mail, I feel the same thrill. Writing is such a solitary occupation, and when someone recognizes my work, I get such a rush. I just received a 4-Star Review for Breakfast in Bed coming out in the December Romantic Times Magazine and better yet, one of my fans sent it to me with a note that she couldn't wait to r...

By Robin Kaye In my next book, Breakfast in Bed , Rich Ronaldi really can’t cook. He’s never been allowed in his mother’s kitchen. He doesn’t know what a pyrex pan is. He’s never been taught how to do dishes. He never set a table. The man is spoiled, sure, but he was also deprived an education in life 101. His mother thinks nothing of it. Rich is the prince, after all. If food isn’t microwavable, Rich is afraid to touch it. When he realizes the only way to be an equal partner in a relationship is to be able to put something more on the table than microwaved coffee, he finds a Domestic God Coach to teach him to cook and clean. I had such fun writing about Rich’s adventures in the kitchen and every other room in the apartment. And believe me, they were adventures! When I was coming up with the story for Breakfast in Bed, I thought long and hard about people who say they can’t cook. I’ve always been amazed by seemingly intelligent people who say they can’t cook. I mean, really, how hard i...

By Robin Kaye The Romantic Times Convention was the perfect time to launch Too Hot To Handle ! Since not everyone was able to attend RT, I’m hosting a virtual launch party. Join the fun and have a cyber-toast with me. Everyone who comments today and tomorrow will be entered into a drawing for two signed copies of Too Hot To Handle. Two winners will be picked from those who comment. The contest ends at 11:59 PM EST May 2, 2009. Dr. Mike Flynn sure would LOVE to have a woman to take care of…To Dr. Mike, there’s nothing like vacuuming or doing a few dishes to help a guy relax. Annabelle Ronaldi would never cook if she could order takeout. When they meet at her sister’s wedding, Mike is sure this is the woman he wants to take care of forever. While Mike sets to work wooing Annabelle, she becomes determined to sniff out the truth of the convoluted family secret that’s going to turn both their lives upside down… Too Hot to Handle is the second of my Domestic Gods series. I thought the thril...

I’m sitting in the sun in Orlando working at the Romantic Times Convention while ducks walk under the tables looking for scraps and the Ellora’s Cave cavemen strut by looking yummy. It’s difficult to concentrate, so forgive me if I pause every now and then to fan myself. Too Hot to Handle is being released a bit early at the book signing on Saturday, April 25, 2009—which is also, as luck would have it, my birthday! What a fabulous birthday present. I’m thrilled with the wonderful reviews my newest book has received. Here are just a few to wet your appetite. Book Loons gave it a 3/3 Robin Kaye strikes gold in this follow up to her Domestic Gods series. Between Annabelle's old-fashioned Italian family's well-meaning interference and Mike's own trials and tribulations once he discovers his true roots, there are complications aplenty. Neither of their family's antics, however, detracts from Mike and Annabelle's thoroughly engaging characterizations or their love story...

My first book, Romeo, Romeo ended with a wedding but as you might remember, Nick and Rosalie, the happy couple, weren't the ones who planned to be married on that day. So when I wrote the second book in my Domestic Gods Series, naturally, I thought the poor, recently disengaged, Annabelle Ronalid. In Too Hot To Handle we find out that Annabelle Ronaldi doesn't have luck with men or marriage. Her first fiancé died and the second was almost murdered. Okay, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, though if Annabelle had attempted to kill him, no jury of her peers would have convicted her. After all, she did catch her fiancé, Johnny the mortician, with the make-up lady’s skirt up doing the nasty next to the dead body of Mrs. Nunzio, God rest her soul. As you can imagine, Annabelle realized Johnny wasn’t much of a loss and probably would have thanked him if she hadn’t so busy putting a curse on a particularly small and soon-to-be useless body part. Everything worked out for the best,...

By Robin Kaye Okay, I know it’s the first day of February. I’m late. It’s the story of my life but we won’t go there. Today I’m thrilled to be taking the first steps in accomplishing my New Year’s Resolution. I’m finally going to lose weight. I know, you’re all waiting with baited breath to hear how I’m going to do that, right? I’m walking while I work. It all started last July. I was in Chicago to meet with my publisher. I spent some time with one of my favorite cousins who lives in the area. Dr. Diane Wallis is one of the top cardiologists in Chicago and a real sweetheart. We were talking about why I have such a hard time losing weight. I mean, I do all the right things, I work out, I eat right, I don’t snack, I don’t drink much, but I’m still overweight. She said it was because I have strong genes. Like that should make sense to me. When she saw I had no clue what she meant, she explained that when man was designed, we were meant to be a nomadic people and walk eight to ten hours a ...

By Robin Kaye I'm often asked if people I know end up as characters in my books. I always give an unequivocal answer. Yes but no.  Or I say well, sort of, but not really. Let explain what I mean.  Take for instance, one of my favorite characters, Rosalie, Annabelle and Rich Ronaldi's Aunt Rose Albertini in Romeo, Romeo . Aunt Rose is sharp, funny, quick with a hug or a slap upside the head, and she's psychic. No one in the Ronaldi household comes out and says so--though Annabelle has been known to call Rose a witch--but everyone knows Aunt Rose definitely has a gift. When I was a child, my mother had a psychic friend who, for some reason, honed in on me. I didn't meet her until I was in my twenties, but she's been ratting me out to my mother since I was about eight years old.  No matter where I lived, it was as if my mother had someone following me around and reporting to her. I remember one day when I was about seventeen. I was living in Pennsylvania with my father...

People have often asked how I write. I tell them I usually use a computer. Although, when I get stuck, I’ve been known to pick up a notebook and write longhand. But that’s not what they meant when they asked. When I thought about it, I realized I use a soundtrack in my writing and my life. I’ve always been a total music junkie. I have over 10,000 songs on iTunes and am never without my iPod. I’d sooner forget my phone than my iPod. I can live without the phone, but I don’t think I could live without my music. Music and literature have made more of an impact on my life than anything else. Maybe it’s because I moved around so much as a kid. Music and literature were my only constants. As long as I had my books and my albums with me, I was home. Yeah, I know, I’m showing my age. Music has given my life a timeline—I can tell you in which of my 30+ childhood homes I lived when a particular song was popular. For instance, I know I lived on Minna Street in Brooklyn when my uncle used to hang ...

By Robin Kaye Hi, I’m Robin Kaye, author of Romeo, Romeo , coming out November 1 from Sourcebooks, Casablanca, and Too Hot To Handle , due out in the spring of 2009. I thought it would be fun to visit my favorite restaurant, in my favorite place, Brooklyn, NY, and talk to one of my favorite characters. Believe me when I say Vinny DiNicola is a real character. When I arrived, I was shown to the back dining room of the restaurant. It was 2:15, after the lunch rush but well before the diner crowd would show. I waited for the owner of Park Slope’s best Italian restaurant--DiNicola’s. Vinny DiNicola rushed in carrying coffee and a plate of biscotti. His son must have told him of my weakness for biscotti and espresso. I’m just glad he didn’t come bearing cannoli – that would have been my downfall. Vinny: I’m sorry I took so long. I had to finish… (he waved his hand as if swatting away the rest of the sentence) I’m here now. What can I do for you? Robin: I want to talk to you about Nick and R...

This year at the Romance Writers of America conference, I really had no idea what to expect except terror. I was presenting the Golden Heart to the next Single Title winner and I knew I’d either stutter, mess up her name, fall, or do something equally embarrassing. Reading aloud terrifies me. I think it’s a dyslexic thing. I have no problem reading silently, but reading out loud is the stuff nightmares are made of. I flew into San Francisco a couple of days before the RWA conference and began trying to acclimate to the time zone. The day or two before RWA has become a bit of a mental vacation for me. It’s a time I can be by myself, have my own bathroom, and not be responsible for a blessed thing except my writing and me. This year, I was at the tail end of my deadline and was at the point where everything in the story converged. The characters, the subplots, and the tension drew together and the manuscript seemed to write itself. The first few days of jetlag were great. I awoke at an i...

Since so many are goofing off at RWA...fun!!! And I'm not...lol, I thought I'd post something not writing related. Besides writing, what kind of hobbies do we have? For me, I make award-winning teddy bears that have been featured in magazines including Texas Monthly, Texas Co-Op Monthly, The MacNeill Galley, Teddy Bear & Friends, Teddy Bear Review and numerous newspapers. The bears have sold all across the states, Canada, Russia, China, Switzerland, and as far away as Australia! http://terryspear.tripod.com/celticbears/ 1950's Poodle Skirt Bear with pink sweater and felt skirt. Like creating stories, each bear is unique, having its own personality. And when someone buys it, it's the bear's face that draws them in. :) these were 16th Century German dressed bears created for an author's new book release. I make everything from Celtic Clan Bears, vampire bears and wizards to birth bears with names and birth dates embroidered on the paws. But one bear I've...