Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

First off, I want to claim total and absolute innocence in the hundreds of Wonder Woman items, as well as comics, that made their way into my home over the years. Ha, you don’t believe in my innocence when it comes to Wonder Woman, do you? You might be right, so let me explain while you are looking at some photos of selections from my Wonder Woman collection.. Once upon a time, there was a fun event called the Dallas Fantasy Fair run by my good friend Larry Lankford. The DFF featured books, comics, collectibles, gaming, dealer room, and panels for writers and artists. I sort of accidentally washed up on that shore when invited to pontificate (like I actually knew much about anything, but I’m a writer, so . . .) on panels. Okay, that was all well and good, but everybody there collected something and insisted I must collect something . I’d always been a Wonder Woman (created by William Moulton Marston with artist Harry G. Peter in All Star Comics #8, 1941) fan, so the great ...

What to Watch: Best Banter One of my favorite parts of any good romance novel (whether it’s written by me or not) is the banter. Give me a sharp hero, a witty heroine, and 380 pages of verbal ping pong, and I’m a happy reader. Even all those gushy love scenes and high adrenaline plots don’t matter as long as there’s a playful bandying of words. Of course, writing this kind of easy banter is hard work. It usually takes me several passes and lots of painstaking edits before I can achieve the perfect light-hearted note. It also takes research—which, for me, includes hours upon hours of watching movies and television. (I know. It’s a tough life, but someone has to do it.) Some of the best lines of dialogue in pop culture were painstakingly written into the script (I’m looking at you, Gilmore Girls). Others arise from actors improving on the set (a skill I’m hugely envious of but will never master). Either way, I find that watching these movies and shows—oftentimes over and ove...

The Audiobook for By Her Touch, starring Wendy Tremont King is out from Tantor Audio today! (I can't stop staring at the cover!) Title: By Her Touch Series: Blank Canvas Author: Adriana Anders Audio out: June 20, 2017 Buy Now About By Her Touch: Clay left the Sultans biker gang a changed man. Its ringleaders may be awaiting trial, but he wears the memory of his time in that hell tattooed across his skin. He figures he doesn't have space in his messed-up life for anything gentle?not now, maybe not ever. Besides, what woman could possibly want the man he's become? Dr. Georgette Hadley is drawn to the damaged stranger's pain, intimidated but intrigued by the warmth that lies beneath Clay's frightening exterior. She thrills at the way he gentles at her touch...and under his rough hands, she burns with a passion she never thought she'd know. But when the Sultans return looking for revenge, Georgette finds herself drawn into the dirty underbelly of a life forged...

A long time ago in a genre far, far away, I did an all-day intensive story critique/workshop/gauntlet thingy that pruned my confidence to a nub and crammed my aspiring-writer noggin with way more information than I could process at the time. I do not recommend such thingies. Absolutely okay for Christina Dodd's heroine in   Castles in the Air to do three manual things at once because she actually has three arms. (Kidding. And Christina Dodd is amazing  and you should read her.) However, over the years I’ve unpacked all that info in chunks, and you know what? Those instructors really knew their sh…stuff. They taught me that a story with too many “was”es can put a reader to sleep and that eyes aren’t independent, willful organisms for most species — jackwipe’s eyes didn’t drop to the heroine’s boobage, his gaze did, right? They taught me about the inadvisability of adverbs, the judicial use of similes, the need for a consistent point of view, and a gajillion othe...

If you've ever hit the Google Translate button to read a website that was published in a non-English language, then you know how crazy the results can be. When I needed a few Spanish phrases in Viking Warrior Rebel , I first used an online translator. But after running the result through a different translator back to English--and laughing hysterically for a while--I decided I better ask a real person. And even then I did a reverse translation through a second real person. The results were great and I'll rely on my Spanish-speaking friends again, I'm sure. Lately however, I've had to relate on Google Translate to email with some Russian physics professors. As part of a Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, they came to visit my college and we communicated through a real-person translator. I've visited Russia twice, but all I managed to pick up in terms of language was how to say "ice cream" and "peace." No...

Hi Everyone! I'm very happy to announce that Book #1 of my Men of Legend series -- TO LOVE A TEXAS RANGER is only $1.25 on Amazon and $1.99 at B&N and Kobo. The sale only lasts until Monday, June 19, 2017 so hurry before it goes up. I knew from the moment Sam Legend sauntered onto the page that he was going to be one of largest and unique characters I've ever created. He's bold and tough and will ride through hell in pursuit of an outlaw. Sam doesn't back down from anyone...except the beautiful Sierra Hunt. In Texas some Legends are born, some are made, and some are created by destiny. Sam is the youngest of Stoker Legend's three boys and he's helped to scrawl their name across the rugged Texas land.  When Sierra Hunt falls into his lap, he knows he's bitten off far more than he chew. Gravely injured on the trail of a notorious criminal, Texas Ranger Sam Legend boards a train bound for his family ranch to recuperate…only to find himself loc...

In my latest book Nothing Like a Duke a dog named Plato plays an integral role. From the first pages, when Plato is rescued by the hero, he makes his presence felt, occasionally steering human characters just where they need to be. In my mind he looks something like this. I trace my enjoyment of dogs as fictional characters back to a few different sources. I was obsessed with Sherlock Holmes from a young age, reading my omnibus edition over and over. And The Hound of the Baskervilles was one of my favorite installments. The thrill of that famous sentence – “ Mr. Holmes , they were the footprints of a gigantic hound !” At the same time, I discovered a very different canine in an ancient copy of Lad: A Dog in my childhood home. How I wept over that story!  TV offered Rin Tin Tin and Lassie – dogs with an uncanny knack for rescue. But I have to say the books were more important for me. As years passed, I found other reading matter that featured dogs. Here are so...

Just back from a weekend getaway with my husband to New York City. We stayed at the Algonquin, my favorite New York hotel, saw a few shows, had some great meals, and good times. And this happened... Bryant Park! Kinky Boots Groundhog Day We stopped into the St. Regis for a drink because it was very hot and sunny on Fifth Avenue when we were on the window shopping portion of our trip (window shopping is much more affordable than actual shopping, and almost as fun). There we were, in the famous Old King Cole bar sipping our fancy drinks, sharing laughs, and my husband gave me that look. The look of love? Great art (Maxfield Parrish), creepy kids.  I thought so. We've been married for going on 27 years. You would think I know the look. Sure, we're older. Sometimes the look is more just "thank goodness we don't have to try so hard." But this? This was an actual look. I felt all tingly. Maybe we should head back to our hotel?  And he turned ...

I live in the North Carolina mountains, and we have a ton of waterfalls. One of my favorite things to do when I have time away from my day job is to go for a walk and see some of them. There is one in my backyard which is especially beautiful and soothing to me, Brightwater Falls, now also called Turley Falls, is a gentle companion throughout the winter months when the greenery falls back and the fallen leaves and bare trees leave a clear view of its beauty. But I can hear this waterfall all year round from the peaceful spot of my back porch. Another favorite of mine is Looking Glass falls. The first waterfall I visited when I first came to the area, Looking Glass is right off the highway as you head up Mt. Pisgah in Pisgah National Forest, so it is very accessible. Some people go swimming at the foot of these falls in the summer months, but I love just sitting at the foot of the falls and listening to the water. What's your favorite place to take a walk on a summer da...