Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

When 2017 arrived, I told myself that I would make sure to try new things. I've always wanted to learn to knit. My son helped by presenting me with a beginning knitter kit for Christmas. I had no excuses! I had to get started.   And once I got started, I introduced my daughter to knitting. She caught the bug, too! And quickly surpassed me. I started working on a snood. She made a whole blanket. I finished my snood. She started a scarf. I made a hat. She's on to decorative table covers. Now we inspire each other! How quickly I went from being a beginner knitter to obsessing over new yarns, new patterns, what can I make next? It's a great way to unwind. And like with writing, the process can be as exciting as holding the finished project (okay, maybe not quite as exciting, but definitely satisfying). DO you knit? Or have a similar hobby? Are you crafty? What's new to you in 2017? Connect with me on Facebook if you have any knitting tips or projects to s...

by Joanne Kennedy   I love books. Especially old books.I love corner bookstores, boxes of books in dusty attics, and the smell of ink and paper. I love the heft of a big book in my hands, the riffling of pages, the feeling of discovery as you open to the first page, and the look of a well-stocked library. Anthony Powell was right: Books do make a room. E-books are great for both readers and writers. But as bookstores close and publishers struggle, I wish publishers would take a step back in time and capitalize on the qualities people have always loved in books—the qualities nookbooks and Kindle editions just can't replicate. There’s no point in competing with e-publishers to make books that are cheaper, less cumbersome to carry, or easier to distribute. So why not make them beautiful? Wouldn't it be great if we brought back the days when books had beautiful leather bindings and marbled endpapers; gilt decorated covers and quaint illustrations pasted on the fro...

by Sharon Lathan I am sure that if you lined up a hundred published authors and asked for their testimony, you would receive a hundred different stories. Some began weaving stories in their cradles while others, like me, were bit by the bug later in life. The decision for when to take those secret scribblings and share them with others would be vastly variable. Then there is the search for the elusive agent and publisher. Maybe you got lucky the first time around or it took years and you amassed enough rejection letters to keep a blaze going for a month straight. But in the end, it seems that the one thing all published authors have in common is, well, being published! Where it goes from there – success vs. failure, marketing strategies, further writing, yada yada – will also flow down unpredictable paths, but more than likely you can find someone out there in our world of easy networking who has been through something similar and can commiserate. Thank God for that! But, I wanted to t...

Posted by Christina Harlin Some of our Casa authors have recently shared their hobbies with us, so today I will share mine. I play computer games. I’ve been avidly computer gaming since 1991 when I first encountered Sierra’s Kings Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella and the raucous Leisure Suit Larry . Over the past 17 years I have played about 150 games, many until the disk was too scratched for the computer to read. Technological leaps have been amazing, but technology alone does not make a great game. Just as in the movies, greatness lies within the story. I am not exactly in the prime demographic for computer gaming, and never really was. Mostly the games are targeted toward young men, which can easily been seen by how very little clothing most of the female characters wear on their fabulously toned bodies. But it’s not all about guns and boobs, or else I never would have stuck with it. There are strategy games, simulation games, role-playing games (my passionate favorite), a...

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...