Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Just before Thanksgiving, I wrote the two words that every author loves--“The End,” marking the completion of my latest Victorian romance. The first in a projected series, taking place in a different year and a different setting, and featuring a cast of new characters whose dynamics are complicated and contentious even on a good day. As you can guess, it’s been quite a ride, bringing these people to life and giving the lead couple the happy ending they (mostly) deserve! Over the years, I’ve learned that every book I write has something to teach me. The first one, which remains close to my heart, showed me that I could see a project of that scope through to the end. Waltz with a Stranger taught me about perseverance, about getting back in the game even in the face of distractions and disappointments. A Song at Twilight taught me about taking risks and trying new approaches in storytelling--because how else does one grow as a writer? This last one? Taught me about focus ....

I love writing novels as it gives me a chance to dig deep into the characters and build complex paranormal and fantasy worlds…however sometimes after doing a pile of edits there is nothing better than slipping into a short and spicy novella. It’s like taking a short weekend break, only with writing.  Here are my three reasons I like to take a writing holiday:  1. I get to go to a totally new world. Just a like a real holiday a change of location is very important for that feeling of getting away from it all. What could be more different from goblins, curses and the awful Shadowlands ? Rock star vampires of course :) 2. Meeting new people…er characters I know it’s a hard job but finding the right picture for the new hero has to be done. And while I’m doing that I contemplate who the perfect heroine would be and then work out how to make them suffer before they get a HEA—just the plotting part is a fun afternoon of pictures, paper and chocolate (it’s a holiday so the calo...

By Robin Kaye The theme for this month is new beginnings and since I’m beginning a new book and a new series, it seems apropos. For me, the beginning of a book is the hardest to write since I’m usually still learning about my characters. It’s as if I’m feeling around a strange room filled with furniture in the dark, searching for the light switch or lamp, and trying not to kill myself in the process. Normally, I know my hero/heroine, or both from one of my previous books but not in this case. While Hunter, my hero, was a character in Yours For the Taking, he was a very small secondary character. He may have had a line or two, but I knew what he did for a living, what he looked like, and everything there was to know about his family, yet Hunter was kind of an enigma Unfortunately, I knew nothing about Toni, my heroine. She just popped into my head one day in all her goth regalia, and introduced herself. I knew what she looked like, what she wore, and how she sounded, but it took a lot o...

By Robin Kaye Being a writer is hard for me because I find myself housebound, more often than not. I can’t wait to go out, explore the world, and fill my creative well. I love to travel to foreign lands, soak up different cultures, and take in the architecture, art, music, and most especially, the food. However, exploring with a family of five is a little cost prohibitive. Since my children have definitely inherited my travel gene, my husband and I have taken to doing low-cost day trips. We pack a lunch and sometimes a dinner too, throw a game in the back of the Sequoia, grab the kids, and head out on adventures. When we lived in Boise, Idaho, it was as simple as packing a picnic basket and hiking just outside of town to find evidence of the nearby Oregon Trail, taking a tour of the haunted Old Idaho Penitentiary, or driving to the nearby ghost town of Silver City to pretend we were miners. We always kept a few mining pans in the car, so if we caught valley fever, or needed to escape t...

By Robin Kaye Actually, since this blog is posting November 2nd, it began yesterday but it’s not too late to join in the fun. NaNoWriMo is for all of you who have said, “I’ve always wanted to write a book.” Here is the perfect opportunity to cross off another item on your bucket list! Go right to NaNoWriMo.org and enter. NaNoWriMo is easy. The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month. I know it sounds daunting but it’s very achievable. The trick is to turn off your internal editor and just write. It’s amazing what happens when you do just that. Sure, you’ll write a lot of crap, but once you get into the groove, you’ll find diamonds among the less than sparkling words. Let’s face it, so many people say they want to write but in my humble opinion, they over think it. Sometimes you just have to sit down and do it. You can think a book to death, but unless you actually write it, it will never come to fruition. Write the book of your heart. There will be plenty of time in the future to do...

By Robin Kaye Last April, I was at the Washington Romance Writers Retreat and I heard P.C. Cast talking about her writers’ journey. She’s had one heck of a trip and has since become one of my heroes. But that’s a story for another blog. One of the many things that made a huge impression on me was when P.C. spoke about her dream board. P.C. Cast put all her dreams on a poster board and looked at it often. The day she hit the USA Today Best Sellers List, she thought to herself that when she hit the NY Times list, she’d have to make a new dream board because she would have accomplished all the dreams she put on it. P.C. took another look at her dream board and realized that she’d put the USA Today List, not that NY Times List! It was time for P.C. Cast to make a new dream board. I went right home and started on my very own dream board because, like P.C. Cast, I want to achieve my dreams. I want to see my book on the NY Times List, to vacation at the beach, take my kids to Europe, move ba...

by Libby Malin The Romance Writers of America conference is just around the corner, which has my thoughts turning to those in my life who've influenced and supported my career. RWA is among them. I'd always loved to write and longed to be a published author. My sister knew of this yearning and encouraged me, urging me to try writing romance novels, which she enjoyed reading. Her support pushed me to pursue writing as a career, to invest the considerable time in finishing manuscripts and learning about the business. With her words ringing in my ears, I no longer felt...oh, foolish...for spending so much time writing when it wasn't at all clear any of it would pay off. A very practical person, my sister gave me "permission" to pursue my dream, turning on the switch I'd resisted touching for many years for fear of appearing silly or out of my league. I followed her advice and began reading romance novels, which I'd previously not picked up. I fell in love wit...

I was all set to write up today’s blog on the Lathan summer vacation plans. I had the first paragraph written in my head and was going to open it up for folks to talk about their favorite holiday spots. But then I came home from teaching the preschoolers at church, a typical Sunday morning of no special significance, and discovered sitting on my desk the carnations you see in this photo with a card that says: “Just thinking about you and how much I love us.” Inside my husband wrote: “I could say these flowers and this card are for no special occasion, but that would be a lie. You’re my heart’s constant thought. XXOO, Steve” OK, say aah! Yes, he is a really wonderful guy and I know I am incredibly blessed. And yes I could brag on and on about how often he expresses his love with similar gestures. He would LOVE to hear you all praise his thoughtfulness! LOL! It is entirely true and I do not have to exaggerate in how marvelously romantic my own Mr. Darcy is. But I am not writing this to b...

By Robin Kaye Last weekend I spoke at my local library about writing, my path to publication, my books, and the general state of publishing. I’m told I had a great crowd, which amazed me because there were only about 10 people in attendance, all of whom I knew. Still, it was a lot of fun to have the opportunity to speak to crowd who was actually interested in what I had to say. The best part was when my favorite librarian got off from work early to join the group. She regaled everyone with the story of how I would come into the library a few days a week, check out a gazillion books and tell her about the book I was writing. I remembered how much fun I had writing my first book. I had three small children at home and had moved across the country to a place where I had no friends or family. I came to writing through a back door, or so I like to think. I felt as if I needed to write. I needed the creative outlet that writing gave me. It never occurred to me that anyone else would be inter...

Every January, we hear about people setting goals for themselves– resolutions to live better, work harder, lose weight, quit procrastinating. The list goes on and on. A key factor in whether a person will be successful in their New Year's endeavors is how that person approaches the benchmark they've set. So now, as the first quarter of the year is drawing to a close, let's look at a few things you can do to help you reach those writing goals you set back in January. 1) Be realistic. If you've never been able to write more than 3 pages a day because of your day job, your health issues, or your family responsibilities, don't set yourself up to fail by setting an unattainable goal of writing 10 pages a day. While you want to stretch yourself, setting the bar too high can quickly lead to frustration and make it too easy to give up. 2) Define your goals in terms of what is within your control. Too often I hear writers say their goal is to sell a book by a certain date or...

by Sharon Lathan Over three years ago now something happened that changed my life. I walked into a movie theater and saw the 2005 adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice” by Joe Wright. Many, many times over the past years, and especially lately as I am promoting my debut novel, I have discussed the various reasons why this movie touched me. I have eloquently expressed the beauty of the cinematography, the fabulous acting, the passion and drama that leapt off the screen, and so on in a dozen different ways and with varied language. Some readers know precisely what I am relating as they felt it too, while others shake their heads in bafflement. I love talking about the movie and do so with reverence because it was the doorway through which I learned about Jane Austen. I know that not everyone concurs with my awe for Joe Wright’s creation. Many bow down at the altar of Andrew Davies and his brilliant decision to put Colin Firth into a wet shirt! Others rabidly defend the idea that life begi...

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 ...

It's been an interesting few weeks for me. I've been across the country and back, lived in a couple different houses, driven up and down the Eastern Seaboard (not for fun, sadly), uprooted the kids, and now, finally, have gotten my husband and myself and the kids and pets all in one place, in one state, and am settling in. It's not perfect yet, but with every box unpacked, every beloved knicknack placed, I can feel myself relaxing. Getting comfy. Every laugh from the kids, every precious item appearing in a place that it will come to inhabit, is a small wonder for me, letting me know we're headed the right way. That everything is going to be just fine. It's been like that with writing, at least for me. My path to publication, in the great scheme of things, was pretty fast. So there's been a lot of learning along the way for me, and with the rush of three books in two years, it's taken some time for me to start settling in. You know...to get comfy. T...

by Mary Margret Daughtridge In less than two weeks I have to give a talk on how to write a sex scene. The more I thought about it, the less I could think of anything noteworthy to say. I’m no expert, but I thought a scene in which my characters have sex would have the same requirements, craft-wise, as any other. I did some research. After I read twenty or thirty articles, I realized how to write a sex scene was code for how to write sex that turns readers on and doesn’t turn them off —or if one fancies oneself to be among the literati, how to include the sex that will get my book published but not open it to charges of pandering or titillation. One sage grudgingly admitted one could hone one’s craft by reading a few “tawdry bodice-rippers.” After several hours perusing the net on the subject, I found only one tidbit of advice all agree on: don’t use gratuitous sex. Yes. Whether the wise ones were romance writers or imagined themselves a superior breed, they all used the exact, same w...

by Sharon Lathan It’s a fair question, I’ll admit. Does the world really need another rendering of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet? But one could ask that question about ALL novels! And the answer is - Yes! No matter how many witch or vampire or football player or Irish hunk novels are written, as long as someone creates a new way to approach it, folks will snap it up. Genres don’t get exhausted as long as the ideas are fresh. So, obviously, the key is to take a new approach, blaze a new trail, and go where no man has gone before. I think I have done that with my series of novels and want to share why. The Darcy Saga trilogy begins with " Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy ~ Two Shall Become One " (available March 1, 2009), and follows with " Journeys Beyond Pemberley " and " The Darcys at Year’s End " (both in the Fall of 2009). The full account of how I ended up writing a Jane Austen sequel fan-fiction can be read about at my website: The Darcy Saga . I...

Blogging has become something we're all used to now- but I know not so long ago, there were some of us that hadn't the slightest inclination to write something for literally the whole world to see, and for the purpose of promoting, of all things, romance novels... But surprisingly, blogs, author interviews, character q&a's, etc. have become an ideal, easy and CHEAP way to connect with your readers. Not only are readers given an opportunity to find out random, interesting facts about their favorite authors, but they also get to see yet another aspect of your profession of author. I think that blogging bridges a gap that's often between readers and authors- so often as a reader, I find myself wondering about the stranger who wrote the literature I'm enjoying. The offbeat anecdotes or heartwarming mentions of family that come up in these blogs make authors seem hum- a far cry from the superhero writing machines that churn out books every season. As your publicist, ...

Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to turn over the blogging reins today to an amazing fellow author (not to mention my kick-butt critique partner) Katey Coffing, whom I love despite the fact that her high energy levels make me look like a slug most days. Not only is she a coach for women writers, many of whom she has shepherded on to publication, but she also writes lush, drool-worthy fantasy romance, earning herself a Golden Heart final last year with the sumptuous Kiss of Fate , which is currently out on submission to find a home of its own. Katey’s writing is one of my favorite escapes, and her advice is always spot-on, so I thought I’d have her over to talk shop today. She’ll be in to chat, so please say hello! A novelist's goal is to create a tale that will enthrall her readers. Sometimes the process of creating the story engrosses the author, too, and the novel practically types itself. Unfortunately, most of the time it doesn't, and we have to painstakingly assemble the wor...