Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

by Amanda Forester When we casababes decide on a monthly topic for our blogs I generally have a lot of ideas for my blog post. So I’m here at my computer, cat on my lap (I don’t even know how she got there) ready to type happily on our topic: Pampering Myself. Yep, here I am waiting for inspiration to hit. Anytime now. Still waiting… Uh, yeah. I got nothing. Apparently, me and self-indulgence are not the best of friends. Well, actually that’s not true at all. My all time favorite self-indulgence, chocolate ( ohhh, sweet chocolate ), has been my constant companion for the holidays. The holidays, of course, start with my birthday in October and continue nonstop past Christmas and straight through to Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, all this pampering has caused the pants in my closet to shrink. Darn pants. So I have decided to try to “get healthy” (you know it’s a foreign concept when you have to put it in quotes) and start making “better decisions” (again with the quotes). So for the foreseea...

I was so excited about this month’s theme – Pampering Yourself – because that is one of the things I do best! (The Jodie, very high maintenance ½ of Lydia Dare, anyway). If there is a way to pamper myself, I’ve done it. After all, life should be enjoyed, not simply endured. I am convinced that in an earlier life I was a very well-to-do Regency lady. I can’t simply be this spoiled being brought up in a middle class family, born in the 20th Century, can I? Doesn’t seem likely. Those Regency ladies had it all. * Stylish townhome in Mayfair * Gigantic estate(s) in the country * Beautiful gardens * Housekeeper – to make certain household chores are complete and satisfactory everyday * Maids – to do all the menial tasks we have to do ourselves these days * Cook - to have fabulous meals, teas, and pretty finger food always available at a moment’s notice * Butler – to be stoic and keep things running smoothly * Lady’s maid – to dress you and your hair and make certain you are always tu...

Please give a warm Casa welcome to International Bestselling women’s fiction (and fellow Sourcebooks) author, Jill Mansell —who has something to gripe about… Hello, I'm going to go off-topic and have a grumble about the T word! Last week I was clearing out the spare room and came across a screenplay I'd written 15 years ago. Now, nothing ever came of it but I absolutely loved writing it at the time and thought the premise was the most interesting I'd ever come up with. Basically, when I'm working on a book I always think it's dreadful, but I thought my screenplay was by far the best thing I'd ever written. So when I found it again, I was thrilled. Surely all I had to do now was give it a few tweaks, make it even better, then I could start sending it out again! And, of course, start choosing my Oscars dress... So I sat down to read my magnificent screenplay and realised within the space of a few minutes that it was never going to happen, thanks to the thing I...

By Robin Kaye I drive a lot. Yesterday I put over two hundred miles on my car, and when I drive, I listen to my iPod. I have every piece of music I own on there, and I can’t stand the thought of leaving home without it. It’d be like not having a book or my Kindle in my purse. What would I read while standing in a checkout line or while waiting for one of my three kids? What would I do? It would be a huge waste of time, and I despise wasting time. Last night, I got into my car after driving my daughter to her school (an hour and a half away) and spending the day at my favorite Starbucks. Driving through the deserted parking lot, I pressed the button on my iPod and scrolled through the genres to writing—I was all set to find the perfect RWA workshop to listen to on the drive home. I found one on time management, selected it, and heard the lovely voice of the moderator—and then, it died. I checked the audio jack. It was secure. I pressed the button again. Nothing. Yeah, we’re talking hear...

Update: Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment and made me feel so welcome here. My randomly chosen winner is--Lil! Please contact me through my website with your snailmail info so I can send you Lord of Devil Isle and Touch of a Thief. If you didn't win, don't despair. There's a contest on my website just for YOU! Hello! I'm Mia Marlowe , one of the newest Casablanca authors and half of a collaborative writing team. The other half is New York Times bestseller Connie Mason. Together we'll be bringing you adventurous historical romances starting with SINS OF THE HIGHLANDER next January. __________________________ The theme this month is treating ourselves and there's nothing I love better than travel. Well, almost nothing. Last November when my DH and I went to Amsterdam , I rediscovered a simple pleasure--a good long soak in a tub full of bubbles with a romance novel. While my DH went to meetings during the day, I hoofed it all over that fascinating ol...

Firstly, I’m excited to join my fellow Casababes and introduce myself. My first novel with Sourcebooks and the first in the Demons Unleashed series, Demons Prefer Blondes , will be released in June. It’s been a roller-coaster of a ride from start to finish, and it’s been worth every twist and turn. I find it exciting that this month focuses on treating ourselves. One of my favorite ways of treating myself is going to the spa and getting a pedicure. There’s nothing more relaxing than sitting back while someone massages my feet and makes them all nice, soft, and pretty. Especially when Spring and Summer roll around. That way I can wear sandals without being embarrassed about showing my feet in public. However, in a way it’s utterly ironic. “Why?” you ask. Well... Lucy, the heroine in Demons Prefer Blondes , owns a suburban hair salon and spa. Matter of fact, the first time we meet her, she is on her knees, bending over a bubbling foot spa scrubbing pair of the most hideous feet...

This month's theme is all about treating ourselves. When I sat down to write this post, I stared at the screen much longer than was healthy. The cursor blinked and blinked, revealing a sad lack of treating going on in my life. My story is not unlike many of yours, I suspect. The notion of downtime is a rather foreign term to many of us who are juggling full-time jobs, a writing career, kids, husbands, pets, friends, social media...oi, I'm tired just thinking about all the things that pull at us each and every day. But we must treat ourselves. Even if it's going to the local ice cream parlor and ordering three scoops of our favorite sinful vice. In my debut novel, A Lady’s Revenge , Miss Cora DeBeau treats herself to moments of silence. With a murderous Frenchman dogging her every step and the handsome Earl of Helsford arousing forbidden dreams, Cora takes every opportunity she can to loll against an ancient tree in the woods, practice Tai Chi near a lake, or throw her belov...

FALLING OFF THE WAGON by Carolyn Brown The theme song for this month's Casablanca posts has to do with decadence and indulging yourself. I wasn't sure just how sinful decadent was allowed to be so I went to Husband's trusty 40 year old Collegiate Dictionary and started searching. It all has to do with falling away or deteriorating. Well, I sure don't want to write a blog about that last thing...gravity has already begun its work on me and I'm making deals with the mirror not to show me any more wrinkles every night. So no, siree! I do not want to deal with a blog about deterioration. Horrors! But falling away would be like falling off the wagon and doing something totally for ourselves without guilt or remorse. So that got me to thinking about what would it take to make us fall off the wagon of putting everyone else first in our lives. How would you indulge yourself to the very point of decadence if we had all the choices in the world? Talk to me folks, what would...

by Mary Wine Please welcome fellow Casablanca Author Mary Wine ! Her third Highlander book, Highland Heat , is in stores now. In today’s post—Mary welcomes us all to celebrate the launch of her new book with a Maypole :-) The weathers is changing but it’s still not quite Spring, winter still wants to rise up and nip at me from time to time. My rose bush thinks it’s Spring. It’s covered in purple leaves, dangling the promise of roses in front of me only to have it drop too cold at night still for the buds to mature. I find it amusing the number of long sleeve shirts and jackets accumulating in the car…you never know just what the temperature is going to be so we’ve got lighter weight sweatshirts and our winter jackets still out or maybe just a long sleeves shirt will do the trick…lol! Our little parrot has defiantly decided it is spring. He’s been singing in the window for the last two weeks. He’s determined to lure in a lady parrot to help him build a nest. Isn’t he a handsome fellow...