Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

by M. L. Buchman A few weeks ago I attended Romance Writers of America National Conference in San Diego. There were tours of Naval Base Coronado where the West Coast SEAL teams test and train. There were publisher dinners, fantastic conversations, great meeting sessions, and several book signings. Other than a few small signings that I've done to support the nearest town's bookstores: https://www.facebook.com/NorthByNorthwestBooks and http://www.bobsbeachbooks.net/ these were my first signings in a decade. They were also my first big signings as M. L. Buchman and as a romance author. The number one response? "You're male!" (sound of deep shock) Personally I thought the beard was a giveaway, but it did tickled me no end. (The beard does at times too.) Pointing at my RITA Finalist flag for Target Engaged. (The RITA is sort of the Oscars of romance writing.) The second most common response? "I've read every single one of your books, short...

  There’s nothing more fun than finishing a book! Then after I finished reading it and sending it off to beta readers, it was time to cut out more bear orders. Received 4 more orders yesterday, have 25 to do already. Somehow, I don’t think I’m getting ahead of the game! Steampunk and Rainbow Bears in Process It’s amazing what a few hours will do–turn fur into fun creations. The two on the left are finished, though I still have to embroider all their paws. But the bears and outfits are made. And here they are! The other 4 are ready with their vests in their laps and their hats in progress. Have to make new style dresses for them.  On the rainbow bears, the one is ready to be embroidered. The next needs a nose and she’s ready to be embroidered. The last needs a head, eyes, ears and a nose, and then he needs to be embroidered. Steampunk Bear with navy vest–Sold Steampunk Bear with Tapestry Vest–Sold! Here's a finished Rainbow Bear Mom and Bab...

  There will soon be 62 books published written by Carolyn Brown or Abby Gray (my pen name on the first four)  so you’d think I would be used to the whole process, right? But here I am chewing my fingernails (thank goodness they don’t have calories or fat grams), waiting eleven more days until my first woman’s fiction book hits the book stores. I’ve got a virtual launch party all ready and the blog dates are set. The cover is awesome. Everything has been completed. Nothing left to chance. So what on earth do I have to worry about? REVIEWS!! I remember my first review very well.  The review was one of those downright nasty, folks! I still shudder just thinking about it. The machete the reviewer used to cut up the story and the author who wrote it was covered plumb up in red sticky stuff and it didn’t smell like cherries or strawberries. No editor was ever going to buy another book from me. I was doomed to be a has-been when I'd barely gotten a g...

by Danielle Jackson Do you ever have one of “those” days? You know what I’m talking about—the one where nothing goes right, from putting on a shirt that just doesn’t want to fit even though it did last week, to sending out a reply all email when you just wanted to tell one person about your weekend plans, to getting caught behind a tractor on a 4 lane highway on your ride home, only to get there and fall up the front steps swearing loudly in front of your elderly neighbor? Ok, so not all of these things have happened to me (at least not in one day), but I’ve had some days like that recently—and more than anything, I just wanted to complain. And complain. And complain some more (this last time though, I wanted to complain accompanied by a very large margarita). And whoever it was next to me, be it my mom, my best friend or my boyfriend, they were awesome and listened and let me complain. But after some reflection (aided by said margarita), I thought to myself—what could I...

Please welcome fellow Casablanca Author, Stephanie Rowe , whose second book in her super sexy Soulfire series is in stores this month! Hooray! I'm SO excited for the launch party for my new book, TOUCH IF YOU DARE , the second book in my Soulfire series. I love all the books in this series, and I adore all the manly warriors who are so resistant to their softer side (e.g. "Who me? Expert hair stylist? I have no idea what you're talking about." Tattooed warrior attempts an innocent expression while shoving his round hairbrushes behind his oh-so-sharp sword.) Yep, you got it. Jarvis Swain, the uber dangerous and terribly tormented Guardian of Hate has been outed. The man can French-braid like there's no tomorrow, and he gets off on sifting his fingers through those silken locks of Death's more troublesome assistant, Reina Fleming, much to the delight of her desperate and over-stressed soul. When a man can wield a deadly sword and help you save your sister...

It’s something every author goes through—anticipating reviews. You find yourself awake late into the night, wondering if your faithful publicist will forward you any reviews throughout your publication month… will they like it? What about the trade publication magazines? And will get more than just 2 stars from RT Book Reviews? These thoughts haunt your mind just like ghosts at an old house! It’s one of those subjects that can be incredibly touchy, and there’s more than one school of thought of how authors should react to blogger reviews. It’s a community, right? And the reason people blog about books is to talk about them, right? So why not with the author of the novel, too? All of these things are true, but there’s no quicker way to ruin your online presence than by challenging a reviewer’s opinions. Even though the reviewer might actually be wrong about certain plot points or your intentions, it’s simply not your place to call them out on it. Doesn’t seem fair, right? And it’s tota...