Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Well, it is Saturday (yea!) and around the nation, colleges are holding pre-football pep rallies and tailgate parties. So how about a pep rally for Sourcebooks? I have lots of reasons to love Sourcebooks— with 'They bought HEALING LUKE' right at the top! (LOL) But I was recently reminded again of what a great publisher I write for when the Rita Contest, sponsored by Romance Writers of America, opened for submissions. I've been fortunate enough to have five books out in print this year, all of them eligible for the prestigious Rita. (Think Academy Awards of romance books.) But to enter the contest, the author must plunk down a $40 (for RWA members) registration fee and send five copies of the entered book. (Fee + cost of books + postage on books = mega moola) Sure, it is pricey, but for me it is worth it. Finaling in the Rita would be a tremendous honor. In past years, I've had one, maybe two, books to enter. This year ... five! Now I'm not going to tell one of my b...

Yesterday, Loucinda McGary got our September Launch party started with the release of The Treasures of Venice. Today, let's keep the Launch Party rolling as I celebrate the long-awaited release of HEALING LUKE! Whoot! I've brought some awesome brownies for us to munch and I'll be giving away your pick of books from my backlist (pubbed prior to August 2009) to two lucky folks who leave a comment before midnight central time tonight! So let the par-tay begin! In HEALING LUKE , readers meet the Morgan men— father Bart and his two grown sons, Aaron and Luke. The Morgans run a snorkeling and deep sea fishing tours business in Destin, Florida. The three bachelors lead a charmed life until an accident on their tour boat leaves Luke injured and the whole family grappling with the changes in their lives. Enter Abby Stanford, an occupational therapist from Texas on vacation by herself after breaking her engagement with her philandering fiancé. When Abby arrives at the snorkeling offi...

I've been thinking a good bit about the concept of a writer's voice lately. Finding and honing your personal voice is so important, and yet explaining voice is so hard to do. Then I thought of this analogy...maybe it will help people understand voice (or my interpretation at least). Think of all the people you meet every day. Neighbors, co-workers, family, grocery store clerks, waitresses, friends of friends, people in line with you at Starbucks. Most of the people you know or meet are nice people, decent, upstanding, law-abiding citizens with pleasant personalities. They form a sort of homogenous average. These people are the average submission to an editor or the average book on the shelf. They are good books. Technically clean, well-thought out, interesting enough to keep your attention. But... sigh. No real spark. Nothing that makes them really pop and stand out. Nothing that makes them mocha chocolate chip instead of just vanilla. There is nothing wrong with these books. ...

I thought it might happen. Even planned it, really. And earlier this week, it happened! What happened, you ask? I had a reader/reviewer, who got an advance copy of HEALING LUKE, email me to ask if Luke's brother, Aaron, and their father, Bart, would get stories of their own. As an author, there's not a better compliment than to have a reader ask to see more from your secondary characters. (Well, there is "I stayed up all night to finish the book!" and "I'm going to the store now to buy your whole backlist!" ...but wanting stories for the secondary characters is right up there!) Knowing that a reader not only fell in love with your characters in THIS book, but that they enjoyed your writing enough to want more is heady stuff. I'm flattered beyond belief. It also reinforces my belief that memorable secondary characters are almost as important to a story as having a hero and heroine the reader can love. In fact, I have a workshop that I give to writers...

I'm writing this from the balcony porch of the vacation condo we rented at Destin, Florida, for our family vacation (and a little research). Almost a week at the beach– sun, sand and sea breeze. What could be better to recharge the muse after a long gray winter? Except we hadn't driven more than fifteen or twenty miles from our house in Louisiana when I realized I'd never put my watch back on after my shower the morning we left home. At first I was a little panicked. (Just a little– it wasn't a huge disaster, but you do become dependent on certain devices.) I knew my husband had his watch, knew the condo would have clocks, knew if I really need it I could buy a cheap little plastic watch at Walmart. But you know what? I didn't miss my watch much at all. As we left the hustle and bustle of our tightly schedule and jam-packed lives behind, we eased into a week where time didn't matter. We slept until we wanted to get up, lingered over breakfast and watching the wa...

Wow! That was quick! Last time I blogged here I mentioned that HEALING LUKE ARCs had been sent out to reviewers. Well, last week I received my first review back from Armchair Interviews. Here's part of what the reviewer said: Reviewed by Heather Durow It happened in a flash. One small spark changed Luke Morgan’s life forever…almost took it in fact. He had always thought that he was infallible and now here he was, burned and scarred from a boat explosion. Abby Stanford has scars too. Only hers are on her heart. She is in Florida, on her honeymoon–alone. The tickets were non-refundable and, after finding her fiancé in bed with a buxom blonde, she figured she deserved time away from Texas. Abby’s path crosses Luke’s at his family’s business and she is the first person to get any response from him that wasn’t completely jaded. Aaron and Bart convince Abby to stay for a few months as Luke’s unofficial therapist, to help get him back on track and back to himself. With her occupational th...

It isn’t every day that we get the chance to provide food for a Romance party. We Casablanca writers take our romance very seriously – and our food! Tasty dishes are our forte, so when the opportunity arose to serve up something spicy, hot, delectable, and addicting for Publishers Weekly’s Barbara Vey’s Bash for her second anniversary of “Behind the Book,” we rose to the challenge. It had to be pleasing to the palate, every morsel mouthwatering, pleasurable while partaking, extremely satisfying when completed, and also make one hungry for more. Are we still talking about food? Maybe! W e will let y ou decide what you now crave – either way, the desired gratification can be found at our blog. Books to the left….. recipes below……. Read on, let your imaginations go wild, and be sur e to cli ck over to Barbara’s Romance Blow Out to join in the fun. Eve ryone is invited! There are dozens of giveaways (including th e Casablanca novels), numerous host s and special guests, hunks galore roam...

Happy New Year from the CasaBabes! We wish you and yours a healthy, productive 2009! Here are a few words from each of us about resolutions and goals. Linda Wisdom 1. What's your NY resolution? Hm, they're too easy to break. 2. What's your writing goal for the New Year? Just to keep on writing my witches and do something with my YA urban fantasy. Loucinda McGary 1. What's your NY resolution? To have more patience... never seems to happen, however. Also to be sure and let the people I care about know that I care. 2. What's your writing goal for the New Year? To have the endurance and creativity to meet my contracted deadlines. WOW! It feels good to say that: contracted deadlines! Michele Young 1. What's your NY resolution? Write more, play fewer computer games. 2. What's your writing goal for the New Year? Write a bestseller. Marie Force 1. What's your NY resolution? Never make them, but if I did, I'd probably want to lose weight, work out more, eat b...

The Casa Babes are taking the day off to spend the holiday with their REAL families, so here we give you some Christmas cheer, Casa style. Enjoy! We'll be back on Friday. Linda Wisdom 1. What are you asking for from Santa? A Kindle, bath and body goodies and clothes. 2. What is the best gift you have given someone else either this year or in years past? Last year I gave my editor and agent their very own Fluff and Puff slippers. So far their toes have been safe! Marie Force 1. What are you asking for from Santa? A new purse! My DH has been slowing improving my previously sadly lacking purse collection. Looking forward to seeing what this year brings. 2. What is the best gift you have given someone else either this year or in years past? My favorite gift I ever gave anyone was the year I got the DH the sewing machine he'd been wanting for years. I giggled all the way out of Sears with it and he went nuts over it. He considers it a, ahem, power tool. You go girl! Loucinda McGary...

Hi, everyone! I'm Beth Cornelison, one of the new members of the Casablanca blog. I sold my contemporary romance, SECOND CHANCES, to Sourcebooks at the end of July, just in time to meet all the other Casablanca authors and editors at the RWA conference in San Francisco. While I'm new to Casablanca, I'm not new to publishing. I've had books out with three other publishers (Silhouette, Five Star and Samhain) since 2005. But I have to say, the people involved with Casablanca have been among the most welcoming and have made me feel like part of a special family. I'm in the process now of finishing up a few edits on SECOND CHANCES, so this seemed like a good time to tell you more about this book and whet your appetite for the release coming in the fall of 2009. In SECOND CHANCES, readers will meet the Morgan men, father Bart, and his two grown sons, Aaron and Luke. The Morgans run a snorkeling and deep sea fishing tours business in Destin, Florida. The three bachelors le...