The Golden Rooster Family Reunion

Ah! What’s this? A postmark from St. Poulet? A missive from my sainted maman, no doubt. The poor chicken. She worries so. I am the only of her chicks to pursue life on such a—how shall we say?—grand scale. Dancing along the knife edge of danger is not for everyone, oui? But it must come as a particular shock when held against the lives chosen by that clutch of spectacular dullards with whom I was hatched. So, alors, I shall read her little letter then compose a reply which shall put her pretty head at ease.

My dearest son,

Ah, you see? Dearest? I am her favorite still!

I hope this note finds you well.

If you consider lying in wait on the decks of a private yacht anchored near St. Tropez well, then yes, I am. Indeed.

I know that you are very busy in your international business.

Business which I shall endeavor to wrap up as soon as a certain wily adversary shows himself above deck. Any minute, I expect. Any minute….

Oh yes, yes. I know there are many roads to cross to be as successful as you are but it is a mother’s hope that you will spare some time for your maman and…many of your other relatives.

Ah, my quarry appears! I crouch and….I spring! And karate CHOP and jujitsu KICK and a slash-slash-slash of the…

Un moment. Relatives?

Yes my boy, it is that time once more. Time for our family reunion.

Sacred bleu!

Cousin Delta is hosting it at the old family homestead in St. Poulet, LA. Ah my, the flock has spread far from the coop but all are making an extraordinary effort to attend.

But of course. My ne’er-do-well relations would sooner surrender to the Colonel himself than forsake the chance to importune me for favors, money, liquor and women.

I know you will not disappoint, ma petite.

I shall not, maman! Though it shall try my patience exceedingly to rub feathers with my déclassé brood-mates for even that short time.

It will be June 30th well before the celebration of Independence when all poultry of worth seclude themselves away from the dangers of deep fryers.

You will attend and make this mother proud.

With all my love, my little hatchling,

Maman

And so I begin the long journey back to the broken shell of my youth. To St. Poulet.

Two weeks later…..

A lone vehicle maneuvers its way down SunnySide Up lane, past rows of rice fields to a dilapidated brick mansion.
Bypassing the house, the driver steers down a dirt road to the rear of the property.

Oh, these cursed country two-tracks with their paint-eating gravel! What it is doing to my new coupe!

Aghast, I look at the rusted wire fence beneath spreading oak trees. The din is already more than my nerves can stand.

“Yoohoo! Cousin!”

The squawk makes me cringe. With the fortitude for which I am renowned I step out of the vehicle and (dear Lord) am enveloped in the wings of Cousin Delta.

Normally I have not the slightest objection to being seized to a woman’s breast but merde, ma cousine, a little air? A minor application of pressure at the wing-joint and, ah, sweet oxygen!

“Bonjour, Delta. You have not changed a bit, my dear.” A most unfortunate circumstance, that.

“Why mess with perfection?” she laughs, with a saucy twitch of her considerable tail feathers.

“Why, indeed?”

“You ain’t changed much, either, cuz.” She jabs a wing tip into my chest. “No more meat on your breastbone than when you left.”

“Yes, well, an excellent diet and a dedication to the martial arts—“

“And your coxcomb still does that weird thing. Har! Har!”

My wings fly up to my head and….sacred bleu! Ah, this accursed humidity! I have not suffered this particular indignity since my late and unlamented youth here on the family compound. I have done well to shake the dust of this place from my feed scratchers years ago. Perhaps my impressive physique and accomplishments will distract the flock from this most unfortunate nod to history? A rooster can hope, can he not?

But duty first. “Delta, my beauty. Where is Maman?”

“Oh! Your sister’s here. Yoohoo! Junebug! Over here!”

Ahhh, my sister. Elder by two eggs. The pecking order always took on a new meaning when she was around. “Bonjour, Junebug.”

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you came! When Mama said you might, I almost busted a gut, I was so excited. I can't wait for you to tell me about your world travels.”

“Vraiment? Shall I begin with Paris or Prague?”

“I always dreamed of getting out of this stuffy old coop.”

“Budapest is lovely this time of year.”

“But...well.. .you know, along came Spur.”

Spur? That bow-legged, self-styled, one-rooster Elvis tribute? She married him?

“Now I have Cogburn and Auspice and Augustus (you remember, the twins?) and Octavia, Sebastian and Putt Putt to chase around."

Good heavens.

*sigh* "I don't suppose I'll ever get off the farm now..." *sniff*

Zut alors! Not to be uncharitable but have you considered keeping your drumsticks together once in a while? I pat her wing sympathetically and scan the yard for the nearest exit. Or at least something shiny. Junebug’s attention span is not her most formidable trait.

Suddenly a long silver limo pulls up outside the hen house. The driver, complete in uniform hurries around to open the door, and who should step out, but cousin Delilah, the madame of the best little henhouse in Texas, dressed in her Coco Channel suit, dark glasses and big hat, she kisses her driver and joins us.

"Hey, y'all, it's been ages since I've been back to see y'all! Hey Junebug, how're all those little chicks? And Delta, lovely as evah!"

Delilah lifts one brow, shakes her tail feathers and saunters toward me...

"Well, well, well, I do declare, if it isn't the Golden One himself.”

I incline my coxcomb graciously. I have a small fondness for Delilah as her hen house is the site of some of the—how to put it delicately—more memorable incidents in an otherwise unremarkable youth. “In the flesh, madame.”

“So, what have you been up to these days, ya old fake frenchie you!"

Fake frenchie, indeed! It seems my original plan—doing my familial duty with as much haste as decent manners allow—is a sound one. But as the finest tail feathers in the entire parish fall under Delilah’s purview, I muster the strength to do the pretty. “Nothing of note,” I say. “But I feel certain you’ve been leading life a merry chase.” She brays out that rough, two-packs-a-day laugh of hers.

“Ain’t I just! I got this new girl—prime bit of thigh-meat, see? Lord, she’s a pistol…”

I lean in, intrigued for the first time all day, but then a dilapidated yellow bus rolls into the yard. It sputters to a stop, belching exhaust fumes from its rear. The antiquated bus driver down the steps and holds out a hand to an elderly hen.

"Git yer cotton-pickin' paw offen me, you smarmy fella," she snarls, leaping to the ground with surprising grace for one so ancient.

I freeze. I am terrified of Great Granny Henster, and rooster enough to admit it. GG is tiny, fierce and extraordinarily rude. She has been, in the lamentable past, particularly cruel about my coxcomb situation. I remain still and pray her eyesight has faded with time.

Immediately GG whirls around and opens the luggage facility beneath the bus.

"Where's my stuff," she demands. "I need my Depends, dammit! I need 'em right now!"

Oh. Mon Dieu.

A sporty Italian roadster roars up the drive to the lair, pulling in behind the school bus. A svelte hen steps out, unwrapping the Hermes scarf and tips down her elegant designer sunglasses.

"Where is that reprobate brother of mine?" Dominique D'Or drawls. "I've flown in from Paris for this, he better have done what he SAID he was going to do."

Pardone? I implied I would perform some…service? For my poseur of a soeur? Ridicule!

She scans the various family members scattered about.

"Interesting digs big brother's found, and such an interesting group of people to attach himself too. Oh, Lord, he invited GG. How does she get around in that bus?"

Dominique thinks I called this meeting? Heavens. She’s delusional. Either that or she’s been drinking breakfast again.

One of the hired cockerels hurries over and asks after her luggage.

"Well, aren't you johnny on the spot," she says, with a throaty laugh. "Of course you can carry my bags. You can polish my eggs too, rrrrrrrrowwww!"

Rrrrrrowwww? Perhaps lunch was of the liquid variety as well.
Leaving the roosterling staring after her, she struts up to the front of the coop and calls, "GOLDIE! Come say hello!"

Seeing no better choice, I trudge after her. S’il vous plait, I pray to whatever diety will have me. Please let it be brief. And if it cannot be brief, at least let it be amusing. I march forward to meet my fate, whatever—or whomever—it may entail….

Book Binge

by Susan Sey

I recently tried to read Little Women to my 6 year old. She's a precocious reader, & while completely capable of reading the book herself, I didn't want to hand over the hard-backed copy my mom gave me when I was a girl. As my daughter routinely loves the covers right off books, I didn't want her grubby little paws on my beloved copy just yet. I decided to read it to her myself.

As it turns out, Little Women--while a wonderful story--is really....dense. The story telling is old-fashioned & detailed. The author doesn't just mention that the girls write a weekly newspaper for their secret society, she gives you the newspaper in its entirety. By the time the story picks up again--three pages later--my six year old is like, "Wait, what's going on again? Who are these people now?"

So I decided to table it for a few more years. I started reading her All Of A Kind Family instead. But I couldn't put down Little Women. I finished it myself, then I went for Little Men. Then I ate up Jo's Boys. Then I devoured Eight Cousins & Rose in Bloom in quick succession, & just finished up with An Old-Fashioned Girl.

I binged on Louisa May Alcott.

And you know what? I feel GREAT. I'd forgotten how beautifully uplifting those stories are. I love the way the people in her books are poor but find happiness. They have flaws but work so hard to overcome them. Their goodness and talent aren't always rewarded with money or fame, but they're always rewarded. And that satisfies me on such a fundamental level. Happy endings always do. (I'll bet there are a LOT of romance writers/readers who cut their teeth on Louisa May Alcott.)

I find so much of children's literature--at least the more modern stuff--so heavily laced with sarcasm, irony, clueless adults & poor grammar/bad language. I love reading with my kids but I'm so tired of books that disparage childhood. Little Women reminded me that it's possible to find really great books for actual children, not the adults who buy their books. Books where patience, self-sacrifice & charity are worth more than fashion, money & popularity. Books that celebrate childhood's inocence instead of trying to hurry them out of it. Where girls are taught to love goodness rather than clothes or looks, both in themselves as well as in others.

Have you revisited any children's or YA books that really touched you lately? I have a voracious reader at home & I need a summer reading list, so don't be shy!

This Is Your Life...

by Suzanne

It's amazing the things we can learn from other people's lives. That's probably one of the reasons I love to read biographies. Not the flashy, tell all, ghost-writer books many celebs get paid outrageous amounts for doing little work. No, I prefer the old kind of biographies that look at the total life of a person, the good, the bad, the ugly...(oh wait, that was a movie). But you know what I mean, the kind of book that lets me see how this person lived and how they triumphed or failed in adversity, maybe how they fit into history.

As a young reader I was fascinated by the written word, as most of us readers are. But not only did reading take me to another world, it often let me be another person. So I'm going to share with you some of my favorite people and what I learned from reading their biographies...

Wyatt Earp. The story of Wyatt and his brothers started my love of westerns. To this day I can see the battle of the OK Coral, with Frank and Virgil getting shot, and Doc Holliday standing toe-to-toe with his only friend, Wyatt as the dastardly Ike Clanton turns tail and runs. Western justice!


Clara Barton. Clara was the first real life nurse I read about. (Florence Nightingale came later.) She was dear to my heart because she organized women to go into the battlefields of the Civil War to tend the wounded. Later, she also started the American Red Cross. Yep, she had a bit of an impact on my future career. Compassion.


Amelia Earhardt. Boy did she inspire me. Now, I've not taken up flying, but she captured the romantic hearts of the nation by flying all over the world, in a time when women rarely left the house to work. The mystery and tragedy of her last flight still puzzles the world to this day. Pioneering.



Helen Keller & Annie Sullivan. I first read Helen's story in about the sixth grade. Since I have a cousin, (Hazel), who is my age and also deaf, I'd learned a little sign language by this time. Knowing Helen had blindness to overcome, too, amazed me. Not long after that, I picked up Annie's story. She not only was an orphan, but had diminished eyesight, too. And yet, she was able to reach into Helen's silent, dark world and bring her out of it, into a world where she traveled and visited with some of the greatest minds of her time. Inspiring!


Harriett Tubman. I have a bit of a fascination with the American Civil War, and the periods just before and after. Harriett was one of those people who fascinated me. The idea that she managed to escape slavery into the North, then turned around not once, but many times to lead others out...what courage!




Robert E. Lee. Of all the generals in the war, Robert E. Lee demonstrated loyalty. While a graduate of West Point, when it came time to choose sides, he couldn't "lift a musket against my home state of Virginia."




Abraham Lincoln. A witty man who lead our nation probably though its most trying time. He believed the strength of the country lay in the union of the states. He had dissenters among his cabinet members, a wife who quite possibly suffered from bipolar tendencies, a frail son and it was rumored that he had premonitions of his own death, yet he weathered it all. Strength of character.


Eleanor Roosevelt. She wanted to live a simple life, not in the lime light like her cousins, including the dynamic, Franklin. Despite his numerous affairs, she nursed him through polio and his recuperation, stood by his side as he became the governor of New York, then the president. Her intelligence and career as a social worker before she married Franklin gave her the ability to see the state of the people around her, (the poor, women, homeless). Despite their marital situation, she became one of her husband's biggest advisers. After World War II ended, Eleanor served as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and was the first chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission. Perseverance.

Abigail and John Adams...okay this was reading their letters to each other, but wow! Talk about love and respect.



So I've been thinking. If I were to write an autobiography, what interesting things would I like the world to know about me?

1. A good mother. Mind you I didn't say the best. I know many of the mistakes I made, but I think my kids know they were loved. They've grown up to be productive members of society, and since they're busy giving me grand babies, they must've decided they had a good role model.

2. A good nurse. This could be interpreted in many different ways. I'd like to think I showed compassion when needed, strength when appropriate and taught many people over the years. I'd like to be remembered for catching babies when the doctor couldn't make it, especially the one in the front seat of the Grand Marquis!

3. A good writer. I'm still working on this one. To me one of the parameters for measuring this will be to have a published book on my shelves. But with practice comes skills...so I keep working on it!

4. A good friend. Well you guys will have to answer that one!

So, dear readers and Banditas....what would you like people to remember you for? What cool thing will be in your biography? Whose biography do you want to read? Which did you read that changed your life?

For one reader, I have a signed copy of Jo Davis' new firefighter book, UNDER FIRE.

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden
Time to announce the prize winner from our visit with the fabulous Anna Louise Lucia. This is for a copy of Dangerous Lies and some Moroccan Rose goodies from The Body Shop.

So, without further ado

Congratulations ...

Caffey!

Please send Anna your snail mail information at Anna@annalouiselucia.com

Please welcome Karin Tabke to the Lair

by Tawny Weber

Karin Tabke's got a gift for rocking the alpha heroes. Whether it's a cop or a knight, she has a solid handle on writing strong, sexy men who take charge - and women who are strong enough to go toe-to-toe with them.

Her latest release, Master of Craving, is the third book of the Blood Sword Legacy - and talk about a legacy... is that one hot cover or what?

The Blood Sword Legacy
Eight knights bound by a brotherhood forged in hell claim their legacies the only way they can: by right of arms, by right of victory, by right of conquest.

Most of England has submitted to King William, but Wales refuses to yield. The King's trusted Blood Swords are unable to prevail, and while Stefan de Valrey is left unconscious on the battlefield, his sworn brothers are captured. Despite terribile injuries, Stefan vows to liberate them. Even rescuing a delicately beautiful -- and naked -- maiden from peril cannot deter him, for the silver-eyed Arianrhod is a Welsh princess, a hostage Stefan can exchange for his brothers...so long as Arian remains as pure as when he met her. But that is a constraint Stefan finds harder to honor with every passing day.

When the scowling knight slings her across his saddle, Arian knows she should fix all her thoughts on escape. But Arian has never before experienced the deep, soul-changing desire that Stefan arouses with merely a glance. Breaking their vows could set two kingdoms ablaze -- can they control the sweet, terrible burning between them?

*sigh* Now doesn't that sound like a fab story? A fairy tale for sure. I was a huge fan of fairy tales as a kid, and still am for that matter. As a child, I think one of my favorites was Snow White and Rose Red. The contrasts, the love story, the flowers (hey, I'm a gardening fiend, what can I say?) I know my love of fairy tales factored into why I write, and why I continue to read voraciously. Which makes it always that much sweeter to find an author who tells a story about a powerful knight, a strong princess and a great tale of love. Did I mention Karin writes great stories?

So I'm curious - what was your favorite fairy tale, then and now?

And speaking of... here's Karin!!!

I’m Late, I’m Late, For A Very Important Date!!

Ah, my constant companion, procrastination.

I want to dump the son of a bitch, but he’s so cute, and cozy and makes me feel so good—for the moment. Then he becomes a royal pain in the ass. Tonight I can blame my lateness in getting Tawny my blog on Lisa Rinna. I was up until 2:30 this a.m. reading her book RINNAVATION. I don’t usually go for this type of book, I mean, I don’t need no freakin’ help!

I lurve me. Seriously, I don’t have any hang ups (well, no serious ones…). I’ve got a good healthy outlook on life. Yeah, I need to lose a few pounds, okay more than a few, but I just wake up each morning and think, Bottecelli, you rock, I am Venus of the new millennia! I love my husband, he loves me, my kids are great, tho’ not perfect, and I’m doing what I am most passionate about: I write romance!! So why would I get anything from a self-help book?

Because I needed the reminder! I needed the spark, because quite frankly, I have been trying to dig myself out of a few ruts. Lisa’s book was like exfoliating my skin. It brought out my glow again. I love to glow! I loved this book! I think--I love her!

I feel RINNAVATED Hah! Seriously, I need to remind myself that I am not an island unto myself. Sometimes, when things get a wee bit stale I need to rejuvenate, and reading a good self-help book that doesn’t preach but brings out the glow is just right for me.

So, what brings out your glow? What do you do when you need to add some pizzzaz or some umph back into your daily grind?

And before I let you go, don’t think I won’t remind you about my hot cops and hunky knights. Those boys will get any girls’ juices flowing and give you one hell of an after-glow! So, you like free stuff? Check out A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER, a free short story. The hunky knight in this free short story is also a character in MASTER OF CRAVING, book three in my Blood Sword Legacy series, out now! Click here for an excerpt and scroll down. And you can always find me blathering away on my blog The Write Life or tweeting on Twitter under Karin Tabke or blathering more on Facebook. friend me.

Ciao, girls! My glowing self will be hanging out today to glow with you all.

His Forever Love

by Nancy

Today we welcome back Bellebooks and Steeple Hill author Missy Tippens. Her second release, His Forever Love, is out this month! She's here to celebrate and to tell us a little about the book. Welcome back, Missy!

Many authors wrestle with that second book. Was His Forever Love a struggle for you?

I didn’t so much wrestle with the book, but wrestle with myself to produce another book. It took me a while to make the second sale. I highly recommend writing and writing before selling (don’t keep working on the same old book). That way you have something ready to go. I had 16 months between books 1 and 2 and really hated to wait that long.


What gave you the idea for this book?

Well, this book started out very different! It’s had about three or four totally different versions. But the part that has remained the same through most versions is that it’s about unrequited love. The hero had a crush on the heroine when they were growing up. They were best friends and study partners. But right before graduation, when he had finally gotten the nerve to share that he loved her, she showed up with a ring on her finger. As soon as they graduated, he took off for Boston and never looked back. And of course, she was devastated that her best friend deserted her.

I wanted to bring these two back together and write about the nerdy guy finally getting the popular girl. :)

I love stories about friends. I've just started this one and am enjoying it. Tell us about the hero and heroine of His Forever Love.

Bill is a brilliant physicist who lives in Boston and pours himself into his work. He’s finally found the place he really fits in and is accepted—with his peers and coworkers.

Lindsay is a caregiver for Bill’s grandmother in a small town in Georgia, and together they run a community center for kids. She has poured herself into taking care of her nephews (whose mother deserted them) and pretty much taking care of everyone else in her family.

Tell us about the story.

Here’s the back cover blurb: In Magnolia, Georgia, local legend says that a couple who holds hands around the “forever” tree will have an unending love. Even so, Bill Wellington held Lindsay Jones’s hands around that tree years ago...and then left her behind. He chose the big city, and now he wants to bring his grandmother there. But to his amazement, he finds that Granny has a boyfriend—and a vibrant life. A life that includes Lindsay, Granny’s caregiver. Bill never thought he’d want to come home, yet Magnolia clearly has its charms. As does Lindsay, who makes him long for a second chance at forever love.


And I’d love to share an excerpt from where they first see each other. Granny has taken a fall, and he comes to the hospital to see her:

A man cleared his throat in the doorway, then rapped on the door. "Granny?"

She'd know that voice anywhere. Had she really thought she could prepare for this moment?

She was afraid to turn around. Afraid of the hurt that might still show on her face even after so many years.

Lindsay pasted a half-smile on her face, then swiveled around to see him.

Oh, my. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She absolutely could not believe this was Bill Wellington. Tall, skinny, nerdy, bookworm Bill had been transformed during his years away.
Tall. Yes, he was still tall. But that's where the similarities ended. He had filled out. And had turned into an attractive man. How could that have happened?

He hurried to his granny's side, then hugged her. "How are you feeling?" He was so careful, so concerned, that it gave Lindsay's heartstrings a big, ol' yank.

"I'm fine, son."

He looked up from Granny Bea and smiled in Lindsay's direction. "Hi, Lindsay."

After several seconds of staring at this near stranger, she realized she hadn't acknowledged his greeting. "Oh, hi. Good to see you again. Wow. You're all grown-up." Way to go, Lindsay. Stating the obvious.

"Yes, fifteen years have a way of doing that. But you look exactly the same. I would have recognized you anywhere."

And she couldn't have picked him out of a police lineup if her life depended on it. His dark brown, shaggy hair was now short and layered and looked as if it had lightened in the sun. His gaunt, pale face was now tanned, angular, masculine. And his beanpole body was now muscle-bound.

"Broken wrist, huh?" He touched Granny Bea's cast. Then he craned his neck, trying to read the signatures. Once he completed reading the circle of permanent marker, he smiled at Lindsay.
Her traitorous heart galloped underneath her rib cage. Stop it! I will not let my heart race over this man. This supposed friend.

"Lindsay, I appreciate you bringing her to the hospital. I'm sure you're worn out. I'll stay with her tonight."

She bristled. He'd marched in and was going to try to take over Granny Bea's care.
He's her grandson. He has every right to.

Still, it made her mad that he lived his life way up there in Boston and barely ever spent time with his granny.

"I can stay," she said. "I imagine you're tired from traveling."

"I dozed a little on the flight. Go on home. I'll call you if she needs anything."

"He's right, dear. You've been here all day."

What could she do? "Okay. I'll come back tomorrow morning with some fresh clothes for her."

"Thanks." He started to hold out a hand, as if he were going to shake her hand, but then the gesture ended up as a little wave. A somewhat dorky wave, more like the Bill she remembered.
She was comforted by the fact that he was still Bill. Yet that little wave reminded her of the friend she'd lost.

***
Bill wasn't sure he'd be able to catch his breath until Lindsay was gone. He had to get a grip or she might think she needed to rush him down to the E.R.

Her eyes were still as violet-blue, her hair as deep red, thick and smooth as it had been when she was eighteen.

He was a complete sap. A thirty-three-year-old acting like a lovesick teenager.

He walked to the other side of Granny's bed, putting distance between him and Lindsay. She's only a woman like any other. Nothing special. Just happens to have been blessed with gorgeous eyes and hair. And just happens to be the girl I fell in love with ages ago.

"Well, Granny Bea, I'll see you bright and early." Lindsay kissed Granny's head. "Make Bill take good care of you."

"Thanks for everything, dear. Get some rest, and we'll see you tomorrow."

Lindsay smiled fondly at Granny, which didn't help his composure a bit. She stepped toward the door. "Good night." She made brief eye contact with Bill, but then turned and left.

What about the writing process do you most or least enjoy?

I love writing the first draft! I love the freshness and discovery. I do plan ahead and plot, but it’s still a joy to find out what’s going to happen. And I love it when themes come together or when ideas come during the writing that I know have to be God-given. I feel so blessed to be able to work at something that I enjoy so much!

Have you become heavily involved with marketing and promotion?

With Steeple Hill (as with all Harlequin lines), there’s a built-in readership from the book club. You can’t get better marketing than that! But I do have a website, hold contests, do a blog tour, and do signings if they’re convenient. I also enjoy doing workshops and speaking, and I think that helps to promote. The hardest part for me is promoting myself at other times—like to people I know or people here in town! But I’m trying to learn to hand out book marks and talk about my books more in one-on-one settings.

What's next for you?

I have another LI coming out in November, A Forever Christmas. It’s a story about Lindsay’s single brother with the two little boys. I LOVE the cover on this book! I keep going to CBD to stare at it! LOL Here’s a link:.
Be sure to click to enlarge it! :)

Thanks so much for having me, Banditas!! And thanks, Nancy, for the great interview. I’ll be giving away a copy of His Forever Love today from among those who comment. You can email me at missytippens [at] aol.com to enter. Just put Romance Bandits in the subject line.

Missy, I enjoyed having you!

What about everyone else--do you have an old friend who "might have been?" What do you like about stories where the hero and heroine have a past? What's your favorite one?

I'm in The Zone!

By Kate

In exactly 17 days, I’ll be flying off to Washington D.C. to attend the Romance Writers of America conference. I’m very excited and looking forward to seeing lots of Banditas and Buddies there! So why am I not smiling, you ask? Are you kidding? Because I'm in a PANIC!! I have too much to do! I'm freaking out!! I have officially entered the Pre-Conference PANIC ZONE!!

Don't pretend you're not in The Zone, too! Frantically shopping? Desperately trying to lose eighteen more pounds in two weeks? Come on, admit it. You've got a To-Do List a mile long, right? Hey, me too! Just for laughs, let's share a few items from our Pre-Conference To Do List. I'll start!

Shopping – I still need two new pairs of shoes. Now, here’s a little secret: I think I’m tall. Then conference time rolls around and I remember ... I’m not so tall. The reason it only hits me this time of year is because my two BFF’s are both taller than me and one of their favorite pastimes is ridiculing me for being the short person. Yes, it's good to hear them laugh, but come on! So anyway, I need to find a cute pair of heels—but they have to be comfortable. I can take the ridicule but I can’t take the pain. But I ask you, have you ever found a pair of comfortable—yet pretty—high heels? I fear it’s an impossible quest.

Schedule – I must find an open spot on my calendar to have a drink with an old friend, but I have no time to spare! How did my schedule get so filled up? I’m just not that important! But alas, I don’t have one free minute available – unless she wants to meet for coffee at 5:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

5:45 a.m.??? Ack! Nobody is THAT good a friend. I’ll miss you, Marla.

MapQuest – yes, I scope out everything in advance. It’s not that I don’t trust taxi drivers (even though I don't—hello, BONE COLLECTOR, anyone?), I just want to pretend I'm in control of the situation. For instance, I need to get from the conference hotel to the Barnes & Noble in Reston, Virginia, for a book signing at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night, July 14. (Hey, blatant self-promotional moment! If you’re in the area, please come to my book signing and say hello! Details to come on my blog! End BSP moment.). I’ll also need to figure out the time it takes to get from the hotel to Capital Hill to a bunch of other places, too. It seems that over the years, I’ve become the map girl for my little group. And if I don’t know where I’m going, it provides another opportunity for ridicule. I prefer to be prepared. I’m also planning to walk from the hotel to the National Cathedral (it looks very cool!)—unless it’s swelteringly hot (which seems to be the norm for Washington DC in the summer), in which case ... Taxi!! And that reminds me ...

Weather – must check http://www.weather.com/ every twenty minutes from now until time of departure for latest reports. Need to rearrange wardrobe accordingly.

Hair – help!

Lose weight – Oh, shoot. I forgot to lose weight. Just like last year. And the year before. Snork!!

Packing – I’ve already started. And stopped. And restarted. And then I started over. Am I the only one who does this?

My first Silhouette Desire – Yay! I'm writing it right now! And I must finish it before conference! Am I close? No! Am I panicking??? YES!

Deep cleansing breaths. So ... are you going to the Conference? What’s on your Conference TO-DO List? Have you entered THE ZONE yet?

Everywhere Debra Webb Turns She Finds Success!

By KJ Howe



Please welcome talented author Debra Webb to the lair. We're very lucky today to get the inside scoop on Deb's career decisions and what shaped her incredible publishing career thus far. One of the most talented and prolific authors I've met, Deb has been on a fascinating road with many twists and turns, just like her RS heroines!


The Hard Decisions EVERYWHERE SHE TURNS

I can’t believe it has been so long since I was here with the fabulous Bandits! But, as the title of this blog reflects there are so very many decisions about time, career, every-darned-thing and most of them are hard! Not to mention seriously time consuming. When we first begin our journey as writers the decisions are a little easier—just write and keep on writing no matter how many rejections show up in the mail. For me, there really weren't any other decisions at the time. I just wanted to keep writing and one day be published by ANYONE. And, of course, I wanted an agent eventually. Again, the decision wasn’t a difficult one. The hardest thing I had to do was remain persistent through the rejections. Eventually I obtained both. My goal had been reached. I was a published author and had an agent. As far as I was concerned it didn't get any better. I spent the first few years of my publishing career writing all over the place. Kensington Precious Gems, Harlequin Intrigues, Harlequin Americans, Silhouette Bombshells, Harlequin Next and Signatures, and also NASCAR romances.

Then came the first really hard decision: where should I focus? Romantic Suspense/Thrillers appeared to be my strongest niche. So, I jumped in with both feet. I rarely allowed my focus to deviate from that genre. Time passed and all appeared well until I realized it was probably time to move to the next level—single title romantic suspense. Second BIG decision: what publishing house would be home for my single title romantic suspense novels? After much biting of nails and pulling of hair, I landed at St. Martin's Press. It was glorious! I got to write those big books with scarcely any boundaries. Then came a bevy of additional decisions I hadn’t anticipated: cover art; branding; and the most terrifying of all decisions—marketing. These new, very difficult decisions forced me to see that moving to a new agent was necessary to accomplish certain goals. That part was very difficult. I’m not very good at ending relationships in real life. By this time I fully understood what I needed to do was to give the readers what they really wanted from Debra Webb (stand-alone novels but connected sort of like my Colby Agency series at Harlequin Intrigue). This, my fellow writers and readers, was the mother of all decisions. Did I keep writing big stand-alone novels with absolutely no connection/direction or did I do what I knew I did best—a long running series of loosely connected novels like the Colby Agency? After all, this year installment number 36 of the Colby Agency series will hit the shelves. No other author series in the history of Harlequin books has lasted this many installments (at least that's what I'm told by the powers-that-be).

The latter was a truth I could not deny. So, for my next two St. Martin's Press releases (EVERYWHERE SHE TURNS and ANYWHERE SHE RUNS) I loosely connected the stories with characters. And now I'm once again shopping for a publisher who has the same vision as me. At this stage in my career, it simply has to be about what's best for the books and the forward/upward path of my future publications. It can no longer be just about being published…it has to be about a purpose. The purpose of my career. The path. When readers spend their hard-earned money on my books, I want them to not only thoroughly enjoy the story but to look forward to the next book. A book where old characters are revisited along with the new...where a family of sorts is established. I want the excitement to build…and the anticipation for my next release to show increasing momentum.

So, while I struggle with yet another hard decision, I hope you’ll enjoy my upcoming summer releases. First, coming on June 30th, is EVERYWHERE SHE TURNS. This story is very close to my heart because it is set in my hometown in the very village where my family and I live in a house more than a century old (which we are restoring and alternately love and hate). It is loosely based on events I have watched unfold all around me. For those of you who read the book, never fear the village is slowly but surely being restored to a place where families thrive and neighbors look out for each other. There has only been one shooting in the past month and no one was killed—only a minor injury. Then later in July, look for the first in my Colby Agency trilogy from Harlequin Intrigue (Small Town Secrets in July; The Bride's Secret in August; and then His Secret Life in September). Read and enjoy and please know how very, very much it means to me each time you spend that hard-earned cash on one of my stories.

Thanks, Deb, for visiting us again. You're not only one of my favourite authors, you're one of my favourite people...I love the way you approach the writing world with such integrity, like a real world heroine. Wishing you all the best with your new ventures! Be sure to check out all of Deb's books coming out...





Debra Webb wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn't until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain and within the confining political Walls of Berlin, Germany, that she realized her true calling. A five-year stint with NASA on the Space Shuttle Program reinforced her love of the endless possibilities within her grasp as a storyteller. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Debra has been writing romantic suspense and action packed romantic thrillers since.

More Booty!

I owe a copy of Every Time We Kiss to someone....

and the winner is....


Gillian Layne!!!

Gillian, please contact me at christie @ christiekelley.com

On the Road with the GR

by Donna MacMeans

Ah Spring - also known as conference season. The Golden Rooster and I took to the road to travel the opposite ends of Ohio in pursuit of writer and reader events. No plane this time, just an open window with the GR's red comb flapping in the wind.

Our first stop was the Cleveland Rocks conference., sponsored by the Northeast Ohio chapter of Romance Writers of America (NEORWA). Lori Wilde led an intimate discussion about developing high concept - undoubtably inspired by the rooster's high flirtacious antics. Everyone wanted to pose with the rooster!

Here's a few photos for the GR's scrapbook: posing with Harlequin and Warner author, Lori Wilde







...and Jamie Denton

We had a great time in Cleveland, but had to turn the SUV around to head down to Cincinnati for Lori Foster's & Dianne Castell's fabulous Reader Get-together. This was a much larger venue and the GR didn't hesitate to make the rounds.

The GR so engaged NYT's Bestseller Stella Cameron in conversation, she missed her photo shoot with the rest of the Tails of Love authors (below).

From left to right, back row - that's Marcia James, Sue-Ellen Welfonder, Patricia Sargeant, Kate Angell, Diane Castell. Front Row: Lori Foster, Me (in the hat), and Anne Christopher.


Even Michelle Buonfiglio from Romance: B(u)y the Book fell victim to the rooster's charms.

Of course, all reader's events feature lots and lots of raffle baskets. The get-together was no exception. The raffles baskets brought $6,616 to benefit One Way Farm Children's Home.

The Romance Bandits contributed a basket that was won by Jodi Minton. That cream colored curve is really another rooster. The GR was capitivated.

All was not fun and games though. In the course of the event the rooster was KIDNAPPED! Horrors! The ransom note demanded I go to the bar if I ever wanted to see the GR alive again. Fortunately, I was already in the bar, so the nefarious plot was unraveled before it began (grin). As I discovered a Bad Agency button pinned to his feathers, I suspect bandita buddy Dianna Love was behind the scheme. But the rooster's not talking. The two may be in cahoots.

Thanks to the intervention of Sarah Parr (debut author of Renegade), we found a way to keep the GR in line. Sarah provided fuzzy red handcuffs! (Okay - so we won't ask WHY Sarah happened to have fuzzy red handcuffs.) That's Marjorie Liu looking on.

Now that the GR was back, he could participate in the Saturday night luau. Truly a party bird.

Thanks to Treethyme, the GR was reunited with a much younger brother. Here the GR takes the youngster under his wing.

The two went outside to discuss expectations in the lair. I'm thinking we might be seeing the little guy again.

Darn that bird flirts with anything with wings. At least he recognizes the lure of a good book.

So tell me, are any reader or writer events in your plans this year? Want to tell me about a good road trip? Any suggestions where the GR should venture next? Someone will win a copy of TAILS OF LOVE for some fun summer reading. Let's chat.

IOU Booty!

Aunty Cindy fired up her handy dandy Random Number Generator to find a winner for her post on the 18th. So without further adieu, the Generator says:

Treethyme!

You are the winner of the IOU for Aunty's September release The Treasures of Venice! CONGRATS!

Please send your snail mail into to cindymm18 AT gmail DOT com. Only 70 more days to wait!

Are You Ready For "Dangerous Lies"?!

by Anna Sugden

I'm delighted to welcome back my very dear friend and supremely talented author, Anna Louise Lucia.

You may recall Anna celebrated the release of her debut novel Run Among Thorns with us here in the Lair. As well as enticing us with her special guest, the hero of Run Among Thorns, Kier McAllister, she ran a contest to name the beer in her next book, Dangerous Lies and our very own Christine Wells won - with Sweaty Socks. I can tell you that this beer does indeed appear in Dangerous Lies. And a special tribute is paid to a certain golden feathered rascal too!


You'll have to rush out and buy Dangerous Lies to check it out! In fact, I may offer a fun prize to the first person to email me with the page number this info appears on! (email me at anna@annasugden.com )

Anyway, Anna is back with us today to celebrate the release of Dangerous Lies, which is already receiving well-deserved rave reviews - including an 'A' from All About Romance! And she has brought another special guest with her; the delicious hero of Dangerous Lies, Alan Waring.

Welcome Anna and Alan.
Anna: Thank you Anna, we're delighted to be here.

Alan, you've kindly agreed to answer some questions for the Banditas and BB's, so shall we get started?
Alan: By all means.

How are you related to Jenny and Kier McAllister?
Alan: Jenny’s my uncrushable little sister. I love her, so I’ll forgive her the lapse of judgement that made Kier my brother in law. No, I’m kidding. I’ve a lot of respect for the monosyllabic Kier, and I’d trust him in a tight spot. Plus I’m educating him on the true qualities of British real ales – it’s a project!

What do you do, Alan?
Alan: I own and run a landscape gardening company, but I do a fair bit of travelling, too. Mostly the Nordic countries, Sweden, Norway. I owe Jenny another postcard, I think. The last one was from the Sognefjord.

But Dangerous Lies is set in Morocco ... what is a ‘garden’ man doing in Morocco?
Alan: Ah. No, you must be mistaken, I…
Look, Kier vouched for you. He said I could trust the Banditas, although I didn’t know then what he was talking about. So I’ll level with you. I’m an agent of the British Government. A spy, If you like. While I’m in North Africa I travel as a ICT salesman, specialising in emerging markets. I’ve been in Rabat in Morocco for a while this trip, waiting for HQ to give me the nod to come home with… with something I’m carrying.

You know, if it turns out I can’t trust you… No. If Kier says you’re okay, you’re okay.

I promise you can trust us. You know, what's said in the Lair, stays in the Lair.
Alan: All right, then.

So, Alan, who is Marianne and how did you get involved with her?
Alan: Marianne is… an enigma. She’s just a tourist, travelling alone. She tells me it’s her first holiday abroad, and really I’m guessing she’s led a sheltered life. She was caring for her father for years, and then he died, and she decided it was time to live a little. I think she wants … wanted … Me to help her with that.

I was out and about in the backstreets, after a meeting HQ arranged went bust, and I saw her alone in an abandoned house. It was a striking moment, that picture of the dark haired woman with the lonely eyes, unmoving in that tiled courtyard, like the ghost of old Morocco… I should have walked on. But there was some unrest in the city and I knew she’d be at risk. I couldn’t just leave her, so I gave her my escort. It got… interesting.

You seem to have landed in a spot of bother – tell us about it.

Alan: A spot of bother! God, if it were only that. I’ve been criminally, indefensibly stupid and reckless, and Mari’s… she’s missing. We had a fling. She wanted it to end, she said she did. But it threw me, she’s so brave and generous and she’s got under my skin. I was off balance, disorientated. I put her at risk. I never meant to, I swear. Surely… it’s got to have been an accident.

But whoever it is who’s hunting me has got her. I don’t even know if…

No.

No, I’ll find her. Whatever it takes. Bloody hellfire, if I have to crawl halfway across the Sahara desert on my hands and knees, I will find her.

Excerpt

There was grit in her shoes, sand in her eyes and the mob and her blood roaring in her ears. We can’t outrun them, she thought, we can’t—

“In here.” Alan flicked a latch on a narrow gate of planks, paint peeling red and green, and pushed her through it ahead of him. It was little more than a narrow space between two houses. Not even wide enough to earn the name alley, just a gap, with a wavering channel running down the centre, where water would run in the rains.

He crowded in after her, bending close to the gate to close it, one palm braced on the splintering wood, one easing the latch into place silently. The mob passed, a shadow at the gate, a shouting and thundering, shivering a skein of sand from the back ledge of the gate.

The noise outside went away, the noise inside was only their breathing, her feet shuffling on the ground as she tried to edge her way to some personal space, somewhere she could breathe.

She was immediately half-blinded in the shadows and half-stifled in the still, hot air. She braced one hand on the rough-rendered wall opposite. With her back against the other wall, she couldn’t even straighten her arm. She dragged in hot, dusty air, choking on the racing of her own heart, and tried not to panic.

Looking around, she saw that the other end of their hiding place was blocked by piles of something like boxes. Oh, God. “Where—”

Alan whirled on her, plucking her close, wedging her between his chest and the wall, one arm immobilising her, one hand hard across her mouth. Outside there were shouts, a distant cacophony, unreal and distorted.

Everything was unreal. The shafts of light piercing the rickety door were like golden blades.
The dust motes that danced on them were gods and angels, djinns and genies. She was blinded with light and dazzled with darkness in one breath.

In the stuttering dark he was a wall of heat, pressing her back, holding her in place. Adrenaline surged in her, heightening her senses, making her want to shout against his hand, making her want . . .

One of those golden blades sliced across his throat, where the collar of his pale shirt was undone. It gleamed on his damp, tanned skin, and glinted on the bead of sweat that was travelling––now fast, now slow––down the rough stubble underneath his jaw.

Her breathing had steadied, but her heart was still racing. There was no sun, now, on which to blame her light-headedness.

He was golden, gilded, bright.

His palm against her mouth smelled of him, and of spice and heat. She dragged the scent in, her eyes fluttering half-closed. His skin would taste of salt, she knew . . . It would taste salty and hot and intense.

It would taste . . .

She put out her tongue, half-dizzy, half-dreaming, and tasted him.

His body jerked against hers. His eyes were glowing in one of those brilliant beams from the broken door, all white and blue, like a clouded summer sky. They fixed on her, holding her more effectively in place than the hands that gripped her and the body that pinned her.

He ducked his head. The hair at her temple snagged on the roughness of his jaw, and his breath spilled down her neck. “Mari,” he whispered, a word of warning, but his grip on her changed, gentled. His thigh brushed hers, his chest pressed against her breasts. Outside, distantly, a crowd roared, but the sound of her blood drowned out their hate.

Anna: We have a question for all of you in the Lair. Alan and Mari have to weather a sandstorm in the Sahara, hunkering down behind some rocks with only some bits of a tent for shelter. What one comfort item would you take into the desert with you.... the one thing, apart from basic survival kit, you would HAVE to have with you?
One lucky commenter will win a copy of Dangerous Lies and some Moroccan Rose lotions from The Body Shop

Lorraine Heath prize winners

by Suzanne
We have 3 prize winners from Lorraine Heath's blog day. CONGRATULATIONS, Penny, Elaine C. and Caffey!

Please contact me at swwelsh2001 AT Yahoo DOT com ,(yes, there are 2 w's in that addy), with your choice of which of Lorraine's Scoundrel Of St. James or one of the Dark Guardian books you'd like to receive, as well as your snail mail addy. I'll be sure to pass the information to Lorraine.

Staying Viable in a Volatile Market

Today we welcome bestselling author Jennifer St. Giles to the lair. Jennifer's many awards include the Golden Heart, the Maggie, the Daphne, and the National Reader's Choice Award. She has written different sub-genres and will share her tips for adapting to a changing publishing climate. She'll also give us a peek at her Shadowmen series, hot paranormals from Pocket. I just finished Kiss of Darkness, and it not only has a different twist on vampires and werewolves but is smokin'! Welcome, Jennifer!



We all know that traditional publishing is feeling the bite of not only the economic downturn, but also the explosion of the e-book market. The options authors now have of getting their books before readers and even in print without going through the New York Publisher meat grinder is ever developing. Print on demand choices and worldwide distribution though mega sites like Amazon.com have revolutionized the publishing industry. All of these factors have both positive and negative affects upon today’s author.

The bad news first. Unfortunately, the unvarnished, ugly truth in publishing today is that an author is a lonely ship being tossed to and fro upon a turbulent sea with no control over their career no matter how much hard work and talent is put forth. Whether you sink, tread water, or sail gloriously to the top of the world all depends on a magical combination of market demand, capturing the elusive word-of-mouth phenomena, publisher support, and luck.


You ask what possible good news can there be after such a harsh reality? What can an author do amid such turbulence?

First realize that publishing is a business that must make a profit. It is not an art appreciation charity. As an author you are producing a product for the publishing business to sell. The publisher will buy what they think will sell. They will market it in a way that they think will best sell that product. If for whatever reason, your product does not sell according to their needs then they have to discontinue that product. Publishing and the decisions made are not personal, so don’t take it that way. You begin to take charge of your career when you begin to think like a business person that has a product to market.

Now the Good Part!

If a manuscript has been rejected by traditional publishers then take that book to a reputable e-publisher and see if they will take a chance on it or seriously consider print on demand self-publishing.

Next, if you are one of the lucky ones who land a traditional publishing house then do everything possible via the internet to support your book and develop a fan base. Prior to your book’s release, write a short, sexy prequel to your story as a free download from your website. Or write a sexy novella about a secondary character in your book and sell it to an e-book publisher. Even if you give this away free on your website, this will draw more readers to the release of your book and have them eager to buy it as soon as it comes out.

Don’t let a book rest on its review laurels. Get excerpts out to as many blogs as possible. Be creative in introducing your characters to readers. (I did this by interviewing my Shadowmen heroes as a reporter that works for Cosmos Paranormal Quarterly.)

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Publish in multiple genres and mediums (print/ ebook). Even if you cannot contractually write for another house under your published name then do so under a pseudonym.

Make use of every inexpensive marketing tool available. Use Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, but do so in a way that has readers coming to you as opposed to you trying to thrust your book in front of their face. Offer something unique for free on your website and invite others to come make use of it. Interactive websites are a great thing as well.

Be innovative in regards to the market. One thing I have done that I dearly hope turns out well is publish romance’s first graphic e-book. Wild Irish and Smooth Irish written under the name Jennifer Saints are for sale at www.betweenyoursheets.com. These books full length novels are light, spicy romances that contain 50 to 70 pictures of the cover models in different scenes throughout the book.

Well, here you have it. A short run down on some of the things an author can to do stay viable in the crazy world of publishing. I hope that you found some tidbit of advice that will spark you to think creatively about your career and to make strides that will help guide your boat through the stormy seas.





There are four books in Jennifer's Shadowmen Series to sizzle up our reading time, Touch a Dark Wolf, Lure of the Wolf, Kiss of the Darkness, and Bride of the Wolf. To see how hunky a warrior from the spirit world can be, check out this taste of Sam and Emerald from Kiss of Darkness:

Something was wrong in Twilight.

Sam had the limo’s license plate imprinted in his brain, which meant he could track down the bastards without having to chase them down. Good thing. He’d probably be as lethal behind a wheel as he was with the gun at the moment.

Dozens of questions about what Emerald had just done and what had just happened screamed through his mind, but he didn’t trust himself to speak to her, yet. Not until he had a firm handle on his temper, which meant the FBI--or Myra if she was lying--would get the brunt of his rage. Nice.

“Sam,” Emerald said. “I’m sorry. I didna mean to—”

“Later, Em. I can’t think yet,” he told her, still gulping in deep breaths of air.

“Come on,” she said softly, taking his hand. She led him up the steps of the station and into the shadowed recesses of the entrance. For once she kept quiet, as if she really understood how tenuous his hold was. Even the tinkling of her bracelets grated on him.

What had happened to him?

He tugged her back before she could open the door, intending to take a moment more to gather his cool. But when he looked at her, she had that lip thing going again and all thought and reason abandoned him. Seeing her teeth sunk into her lush bottom lip that was now all moist and wet snapped something inside him. All of the desire he’d kept a tight lid on for months meshed with all of the emotion roiling in him and he lost it.

Taking hold of her shoulders, he leaned down and kissed her, sliding his tongue swiftly over her plump lip then sucking the sweetness of it into his mouth. Her heady lavender and spice scent mingled with womanly arousal filled his lungs and set his senses on fire.

Blood roared in his ears, rushing south to his swelling erection. He could smell, taste, and feel her on a level he’d never experience before in his life. It was all consuming. Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her hard against his burning need. She gasped in response and his tongue invaded deep, sweeping the softness of her mouth and tangling with her tongue.

She moaned, angling her neck back to take more of him and he stepped between her legs, riding his thigh to the V of her hot sex. Her breasts brushed his chest and he had to touch her, had to feel their ripe fullness. Taste her. Suck her. Eat her. Thrust into her until nothing but mindless pleasure ruled them both.

“Sam, please” she said, splaying her hand against his chest, breathing as heavily as he was.

That was all he needed to hear. She wanted him as desperately as he wanted her. He’d known it forever. So why in the hell hadn’t they banged it up big time, yet? He couldn’t seem to remember why and wasn’t the least bit interested in thinking right now. He backed her to the wall and shoved his hand up her soft shirt to even softer skin and cupped her lace covered breast. Her nipple hardened and he groaned deep, shoving his arousal hard against her.

Emerald pulled back then suddenly smacked her fist into his chest.

He blinked at her, trying to see through his desire hazed vision. “Em?”

“I said please stop, you gack. Not please more.” She pushed at him again and he loosened his hold, surprised to find his hand palming her breast. Reluctantly, he slid his hand from her shirt and eased back from her, finally seeing clearly enough to realize they weren’t even in private.

Considering one could practically spit from one side of the town to the other, life in Twilight was like trying to lose oneself in a fishbowl. Anybody looking from the street or the parking lot would have seen them at least kissing, if not the full details of the kiss. And anyone exiting the sheriff’s station would have gotten an eyeful. Damn where in the hell was his mind?

“I canna believe you kissed me like that. After all this fooking time you up and kiss me now?” She glared at him, chest heaving with ire.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what happened. I shouldn’t have—”

“Yes, you bloody well should have. But you should have kissed me months ago when it would have been you kissing me.”

A final note from Jennifer: I would love to hear from you either about your thoughts on staying viable in today’s market, or about my Shadowmen Series. You can reach me either through my website or email me at jenniferstgiles@yahoo.com.

Huge thanks for letting me share with you today.

What're your favorite story elements? If you could buy a book that combined a mix mystery, romance, paranormal elements, contemporary lifestyles, futuristic worlds, historical time periods, and/or different cultural traditions in any combination you choose, what would it be?

Jennifer is giving away a book to one of today's commenters!

Time For A Top Ten List

by Beth

Tomorrow is Father's Day here in the States which, for some unknown reason, has me thinking about some of my all-time favorite Movie/TV Dads! (I know. It's scary how my brain works. Let's just go with it, shall we? *g*)

So here, in no particular order, are my Top Ten Favorite Movie or TV Dads:

1. Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) of TV's Castle. So far I've only caught a few episodes of this show but the thing that struck me right from the beginning was Castle's relationship with his daughter Alexis. Alexis is actually more mature than her dad but their love for each other is clear *g*

2. Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) in Definitely, Maybe. I'm a huge Ryan Reynolds fan (and I can't wait to see him with Sandra Bullock in The Proposal!) and this movie about a single dad telling his daughter about his past was very sweet :-)

3. Jack (Michael Keaton) in Mr. Mom. Oh, how I love this movie! Jack loses his job and soon embraces his new role as a stay-at-home dad. Anyone else remember this scene where he's trying to get his son Kenny to give up his woobie (security blanket): "I understand that you little guys start out with your woobies and you think they're great... and they are, they are terrific. But pretty soon, a woobie isn't enough. You're out on the street trying to score an electric blanket, or maybe a quilt. And the next thing you know, you're strung out on bedspreads Ken. That's serious."

4. Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) in Sleepless in Seattle. As much as I love the romance in this film, I also love the bond between Sam and his young son Jonah.

5. Robert (Patrick Dempsey) in Enchanted. I can't get enough of this movie and Robert is such a cynical New Yorker but his love for his young daughter pushes him to bring fairy tale princess Gieselle home.

6. Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) in TV's Bones. Seeley is a tough FBI agent AND a caring father. And he's easy on the eyes, too ;-)

7. Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) in TV's Friday Night Lights (one of my fave shows!) Love how sexy Eric is with his wife and how wonderful he is with his daughters. Plus, as a football coach, he's a role model/father figure to many of the boys on his squad.

8. John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) of TV's Supernatural. Before JDM was in Watcher's, he played Sam and Dean's father and I have to admit, I fell hard for this tough guy who would do anything to protect his sons.

9. Daniel (Liam Neeson) in Love Actually. The story line of Daniel and Sam is my favorite of this fabulous movie. Seeing their relationship grow after suffering a huge loss is so bittersweet.

10. (TIE) Richard White (James Marsden) and Clark Kent/Superman (Brandon Routh) in Superman Returns. Young Jason White couldn't ask for two better Dads!

Who are some of your favorite Movie/TV Dads? Which star would win your vote as sexiest dad? I know we have a few Hugh Jackman and Johnny Depp fans out there *g* Let's hear it!

Catherine Spangler returns to the Lair.

Interview by Suzanne

Pull up a chair Banditas and Bandit Buddies! Today, we have a guest who had a blast her last time visiting with us, my good friend, Catherine Spangler. Cathy is not only one of my favorite people and writers, but a big hit with both my daughters, who just gobble up her paranormal romances! So please welcome, Cathy...

Suz: Cathy, TOUCHED BY LIGHT is a continuation of your Atlantean Sentinel series. Can you tell us about the series and how this new book fits into the series?

Cathy: The Sentinel series is about Atlanteans reincarnating into current-day earth. First, the "bad" Atlanteans (Belians who worshipped Belial, made human sacrifices, and caused the destruction of Atlantis) started coming in, attracted by the new technologies. They thrive on chaos, fear, and blood, and many are dictators, drug lords, serial killers, etc. The good Atlanteans (the Sentinels) are now reincarnating to stop the Belians. They track the Belians psychically. They have one edge-human conductors who can amplify their psychic powers. A conductor is always opposite sex of the Sentinel, and the tracking process (a conduction) raises sexual energies. There are currently three Sentinel books: Touched by Darkness, Touched by Fire, and Touched by Light. Each is stand alone, but they're also linked.

Suz: Adam Masters isn't a typical Sentinel. How does his bonding with Julia change the Sanctioned dynamics? How does his bonding with Julia change the Sentinel-Conductor relationship?

Cathy: Adam is actually a Sanctioned, and more powerful than a Sentinel. His job is to oversee the Sentinels and conductors in his region (Texas). He's not supposed to have a matched conductor or perform conductions, yet when he meets Julia Reynolds, he quickly realizes she is indeed a matched conductor for him-which is unheard of. When he's put in a position of tracking one of his own Sentinels (something he would never ask his other Sentinels to do), then he also realizes that he and Julia are supposed to be together. It doesn't really change the Sentinel/conductor relationship, but it does create big upheavals for Adam.

Suz: Julia Reynolds is no simpering miss to be used by Adam as he pleases. How did she get that way? And how does she change during her relationship with Adam?

Cathy: Julia has never fully recovered from a horrendous attack twelve years ago, when she was stalked, brutally beaten and raped, and left for dead. Her leg was shattered, and she must use a cane to get around. She's buried herself in a brilliant teaching career, seeking refuge in order and discipline and control in her life. She doesn't want Adam messing up her haven, and she certainly doesn't want a relationship with any man, much less Adam. He's like a god, far beyond a plain woman like herself. But as she works with Adam to track the missing Sentinel, she finds herself attracted to him, and realizes she's no longer dead inside and can still experience sexual desire. When she almost dies during their tracking, she decides to throw caution to the wind and enjoy a relationship with Adam-even if it's only temporary.

Suz: The Belians are the dark forces in you paranormal world. Are the Sentinels going to best them or are they too strong?

Cathy: The Belians are basically as powerful as the Sentinels. It could go either way, and sometimes the Belians win. As I've already mentioned, the Sentinels have an edge with their conductors (there are none for the Belians), but there are no guarantees.

Suz: Miriam is an interesting secondary character. How is she involved in the story?

Cathy: I love Miriam. Underneath the Goth makeup, multi-colored hair, and multiple earrings, Miriam is basically conservative and extremely intelligent. She also comes from a Gypsy heritage and has psychometric abilities, and can read auras and Tarot cards. She becomes involved because she's one of Julia's students, and when she sees Julia and Adam together, she checks Adam's aura (which isn't normal) and gets a read from money he gives her. She knows something dark and sinister is going on, and believes she's being guided to help in some way. So she follows Adam and Julia to San Antonio, and ends up helping them in their search for a missing Sentinel and a dangerous Belian.

Suz: You usually write paranormal books. Are their more of the Sentinel series or can we expect something different in your future?

Cathy: Right now, all my story ideas are paranormal. I love those elements so much, it's basically impossible to keep them out of my books. Currently, there are no more Sentinel books planned, partly because of the downswing in the publishing industry. I am working on a new paranormal series about angels, and dusting off my "Silly Aliens" series (you can read sample chapters from Cowboys and Aliens on my website at http://www.catherinespangler.com/fun.htm).

I also want to tell you about the fun "Mr. Right Sentinel" quiz I have on my website. You can take the quiz and determine which of the three ultra-sexy Sentinels is your perfect match (okay, so Adam is a Sanctioned, but he's included in the quiz). You can find the quiz at http://www.catherinespangler.com/fun_quiz.htm. And if you do take it, I hope you'll comment on the blog and share your match. It will be interesting to see which Sentinel is the most popular.

Are you getting tired of the most written paranormal themes (vampires, werewolves, etc.)? What would you like to see in future paranormal trends (angels, demons, magic, etc.)?Do you think we might get some good discussion with those questions? We can let readers know that they can chime in on the questions or take the quiz and give their results, and either way, they'll be entered into the drawing for the book. I'm giving away a copy of Touched by Light today, so jump in for a chance to win.

Thank you so much for letting me hang out here today. The Bandits are ultra cool! .

The Unseen Winners!!

by Caren Crane

Okay, the winners won't be unseen, but they are the winners of fantastic books from the author of The Unseen, Alexandra Sokoloff.

The winner of an autographed copy of The Unseen is...HOUSEMOUSE88!!

The winner of an autographed copy of The Harrowing is...LYNN!!

Congratulations, ladies! Please send your name and snail mail information to: alex @ alexandrasokoloff.com. Enjoy!

The Road To Romance

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Next Tuesday I'm excited to be a guest speaker at the Solano County Library in Fairfield, California as part of their Summer Reading Program for Adults. The librarians asked me to talk about my experiences as a romance reader and writer and I thought I'd give you all a sneak peek at part of what I plan to say.

My mother is the one chiefly responsible for setting me on the winding path that eventually became my road to romance. She loved to read the great old gothic romances by Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Mary Stewart.

Back in the day (all right, I'll admit it, I'm a child of the 60s) you could very definitely tell a book by its cover. If the cover had a house with only a single lighted window, it was a gothic! My mom always had a paperback or two lying around the house. She often traded them with her friends.

As a bored young teen, I started picking them up and reading them and--WONDER OF WONDERS!--I liked them! (In fact I liked them so much, that I wound up naming my son after a character in Mary Stewart's The Moonspinners!)

I say 'wonder of wonders' because in those days I was an avid science fiction/fantasy reader and an all-out LOTR fanatic! I read everything from Piers Anthony to Roger Zelazny and anything in between. In fact it was a fantasy novel first published in the late 1970s that convinced me I should try my hand at writing my own novel. That book was The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks and it was a complete homage to Tolkien.


I LOVED IT! I also decided that if some lawyer from Chicago could do it, I could too (ah, the blissful ignorance of youth). So I made my very first attempt at writing a novel. I wrote the first draft in long hand and typed the revised copy on a portable manual typewriter.

Yes indeed, it was a terrible trial and so was the story! After a few rejections (can't believe I actually had the nerve to send it out) it went into a very large box under the bed and somehow through various moves and a divorce became lost forever. Thank goodness and may it Rest In Peace!

Meanwhile, my rocky road to romance continued. In the 80s I discovered and devoured most of the 'bodice rippers' of the day -- Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Patricia Matthews (remember her?). But contemporary romances pretty much left me cold and fantasy continued to be my genre of choice...

Until one day in 1992 when I was browsing the SciFi/Fantasy section of my local bookstore and I pulled out a book that had somehow been misshelved. I mean, one look at the cover (front and back) and I knew that in spite of its very odd title, Outlander, that this was a romance. My BFF's birthday was fast approaching and I knew she liked to read romances so I bought the book to give to her. Of course, I just couldn't resist reading the first chapter...

...And the rest, as they say, IS HISTORY! I couldn't stop, and finished Outlander in a 3 day reading binge. By the time I gave it to my BFF wrapped in pretty flowered paper with a bright shiny bow (to distract from the slightly cracked spine), I'd already stopped at the library and checked out the sequel, Dragonfly In Amber. And when I finished it, I ran to the bookstore and bought every time-travel romance in sight. Finally, when I grew impatient waiting for Diana Gabaldon to finish the third Jamie and Claire book, Voyager, I decided to write my very own time-travel romance.

This second effort wasn't nearly as bad as my previous sword & sorcery attempt. In fact, an editor at Leisure books actually requested the full manuscript, but didn't buy it. But I also knew I had a lot to learn and started reading a lot of 'how-to' books and taking online classes. I also kept reading romance! By now, I'm happy to say I was firmly on that road.

Eventually, I joined RWA and attended some regional conferences. I also kept reading and writing, and decided to go back to my 'roots' and give romantic suspense a try. My first completed romantic suspense manuscript finaled in the 2006 Golden Heart (sound familiar?). And in 75 more days, that book will be released as The Treasures of Venice! Just goes to prove that happy endings happen in real life too!

Now you all know a little of my story of my road to romance, so it is your turn to share yours! Who helped set you on your own road to romance? What are some of the books you remember most along the way?

Please share and at the end of the day, Aunty will pick one commenter to receive either an autographed copy of The Wild Sight (which just WON Best First Book in the More Than Magic Contest!) , or an IOU for an autographed copy of The Treasures of Venice when it is released on September 1st.

Summer Vacation

by Christie Kelley

The kids are done with school now so it’s officially summer vacation time. We live in a wonderful neighborhood that has access to a tidal river that feeds the Chesapeake Bay. In our common area, we have a spring fed pond for the kids to swim and white sand surrounds it. Without a doubt, it is the perfect place to spend a summer. Now that my youngest is 12, he can go down to the pond with a friend (as long as a lifeguard is on duty). He did it for the first time this week. It felt really strange letting my “baby” go. But it did free up my time for work so I was happy.

When I was growing up, my cousins had a heated in-ground pool that we usually had an open invitation to come over and swim. My father would take care of their house and pool while they went away for a month every July. So we would go swimming every day that was nice. But to this day, I wonder why they would have left their house for a month when they had a great place to spend their summer.

Summer for me was hanging out usually with a great book to read. It wasn't planned and organized with camps and other things to do except for our one week family vacation to the beach. I see so many kids that are in camps from the first week of vacation to the last and wonder if they really enjoy their vacation from school. But I was lucky that my mom worked for the school system and had summers off. My kids are lucky because both my husband and I work from home so they can choose a camp if they want to but aren't forced into it. My oldest is going to a college for a computer game design camp for a week and my youngest is taking afternoon sailing lessons. Both sound like fun for them.

In addition, this summer the kids are going to my mother’s house in upstate NY for a week while my husband and I spend 10 days in Italy. Now I just have to figure out things for them to do while we’re gone so they don’t drive my mother crazy.

So if you want to be in the drawing for a copy of Every Time We Kiss, tell me about you summers as a kid. What are your plans for this summer? Extra credit for ideas to keep the boys from driving my mother crazy!

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden
I'm sorry I'm late announcing this - totally my fault - life got so busy!

Without further ado, the winners for the signed hardbacks of the UK Edition of Eloisa James' Desperate Duchesses are:

Flchen1

Maija P

Chey

And as an extra bonus, because I was so late announcing the prize, I'm offering some genuine Cadbury's chocolate to:

Blodeuedd

Congratulations!!

Please send your snail mail details to me at Anna@annasugden.com and I'll ensure your prizes are sent out to you ASAP!

Alexandra Sokoloff Reveals The Unseen

by Caren Crane

I know there are those among the Banditas and Bandita Buddies who long for the chills from things that go bump in the night. I have a special treat for you, my terror-loving friends. My guest today is Alexandra Sokoloff, whose first book The Harrowing was nominated for both the Bram Stoker and Anthony First Book awards. Alex's latest release The Unseen deals with parapsychology, poltergeists and...well we'll get to all that shortly.

Welcome to the Lair, Alex!

Thanks, Caren and Banditas! I am thrilled to be in any lair, but especially this one.

I am the first to admit I am a big old chicken about reading scary books anymore. As a young woman, I read Stephen King and Anne Rice books at an alarming rate, but stopped somewhere in my 20s. So I was curious how my chicken-hearted self would take to The Unseen. I'm happy to report that I made it through without any night terrors or flying leaps into bed! Of course, I read it mostly in the break room at lunch. *g* What is that attracts you to the dark side of writing?

I actually think The Unseen is my "safest" book so far for those who are sensitive to that scary stuff. There are some good spooky chills, but it's more romantic and mysterious, too.

I always loved reading the darker, ghostly books - gothics, Anne Rice, the Brontes, Stephen King, Ira Levin. That all seems to start young. But I also did a ton of musical theater, so it wasn't all dark in my childhood! I guess I was always sensitive to the fact that scary things happen - I myself was almost abducted by a child molester when I was eight, but realized something was terribly wrong with the man and luckily, I got away. Others of my friends were not so lucky. So that was my first brush with true evil, and it started my obsession with the idea of a constant battle out there between good and evil. I love books and movies that acknowledge evil does exist, often in the form of people gone bad, but that have a strong theme of good people fighting it and triumphing. That's what I explore in my books.

Oh my, you learned that lesson far too young. It's easy to see why the good vs. evil theme is such a strong one for you. I was intrigued by The Unseen for several reasons. Much to my husband's dismay, I have long been fascinated by all things "woo woo" as Tawny would say. When I was a kid in the 70s, astrology and psychic exploration of all types were big, even without drugs! So setting The Unseen at Duke University (just down the road) which had a fully-functional parapsychology department for decades was a real hook for me. What made you choose Duke and the work done there as the basis for a book?

Just like you, I got hooked on the psychic stuff as a kid back in the 70's, which was, let's face it, all about that mind-expansion thing! I must have heard about the Rhine ESP experiments when I was just 9 or 10. I remember my little sister doing a science report about the Rhine experiments - she even made her own Zener ESP cards.

Then, way later, several years ago, my screenwriting partner and I were doing a movie assignment, adapting a book about a famous poltergeist experiment, and we decided to set the story on the Duke campus because of the whole history of the parapsychology lab, and I took a research trip to North Carolina to check out the campus and just fell in love with it - it's so Gothic and spooky - actual gargoyles! - and that great chapel. (By the way, that was the film assignment that drove me to write my own first novel, The Harrowing.)

But the spark that, uh, lit the fire of The Unseen, was my significant other handing me an article in the paper about a lecture on the Duke campus called: "Secrets of the Rhine Parapsychology Lab". He told me - as he is wont to do - "You should go to this." And he was right. At that lecture I learned that when the lab closed down in 1965, seven hundred boxes of original paranormal research files were sealed up and stored in the basement of the graduate school library, and were only just opened up after 40 years.

Now, is that a story or what? What the HELL is in those boxes?

So I pitched that to St. Martin's as my third book and they flipped for the idea, and there you go.


I would love to know what's in those boxes, too! It was a great idea that you turned into a riveting book. I loved the feeling of uncertainty throughout The Unseen. The heroine is quite a skeptic about the paranormal activities she sees (or doesn't) and she is also not sure who to trust. A big theme in The Unseen is what the characters want to believe. This seemed to include not only the paranormal stuff but also what the characters believed about each other. I am always tempted to rush to answer questions in my books, which is a suspense killer. *g* Was it hard to write a book where you had to leave so many questions open-ended as to what really happened or who could be trusted?

It was hard, thanks for asking! Because the thing about a poltergeist is that there is no concrete explanation, really. It could be the psychic projections of a troubled adolescent, it could be an aspect of a traditional haunting, it could be extra-dimensional entities, it could be sheer human fraud. So I had to create a situation which could be any one or all of those things, and as usual, I wanted to keep readers guessing all the way through about what was really going on (an author friend of mine calls my books "whatdunits") - while providing a great roller coaster ride - and then resolve the mystery in a scary and satisfying way.

And of course, on the human side Laurel is very damaged from her recent experience with discovering her fiance cheating on her, so it's difficult for her to trust anyone. That whole issue is what she has to resolve personally in order to grow. She wants to believe in psychic phenomena, and believe in people again, but is protecting herself, possibly for good reason.

Now that everyone's curiosity is piqued for The Unseen, what other spooky projects do you have in store for readers?

I just turned in my fourth book for St. Martin's, Book of Shadows, which I just love - it's about a Boston homicide detective who has to team up with a mysterious and of course very sexy witch from Salem to solve what looks like a Satanic killing. Again, crossing real life with the paranormal! I'm doing a paranormal trilogy with Heather Graham and Deborah LeBlanc for Harlequin Nocturne, and an anthology of four interconnected novellas with Heather, Sarah Langan and Sarah Pinborough. All three of my first books, The Harrowing, The Price, and The Unseen will be available in England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand starting in October. And I'm just finishing up my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors book, based on the story structure methods I teach on my blog. Hmm, no wonder I'm tired!

I'm tired just hearing how busy you are. It's a great thing for us readers, though! Any last thoughts for the Banditas and BBs?

The Unseen explores psychic phenomena like hauntings, poltergeists, precognitive dreams, and crisis apparitions (seeing a loved one at the moment of death or extreme trauma). I treat the subject very realistically (and even stayed in a notoriously haunted mansion in North Carolina for a week to add that extra layer of realism!)

So my questions for our readers today are all about that. Have you - or someone you know - ever had a precognitive dream or experience? Some kind of visitation from a dead loved one? A ghost or haunting experience? Experience with ESP or telepathy? Let's hear it!

We'll pick two commenters randomly to win a signed copy of The Unseen and a signed copy of my first spooky ghost story, The Harrowing (inspired by a poltergeist experience I had when I was 16).

Thanks for having me here, and thanks for sharing!

For an extra chance to win a signed copy of The Unseen, just sign up for Alex's newsletter at her website: http://alexandrasokoloff.com, where she gives away a book a week.

Colette's winners

Thanks so much for all the comments on Colette's post today. The three winners are as follows:

Gannon -- Bound By Honor
Drew -- Unmasqued
RachieG -- Master

E-mail me at trishmilburn AT yahoo DOT com with your mailing information, and I'll forward it to Colette.

Colette Gale is Seducing the Classics

Today, I'm very happy to host talented author and good friend Colette Gale, who is making a name for herself in the erotic romance world by retelling classic tales with, shall we say, a bit of a spicier twist. And Colette is giving away not one, not two, but all three of her published novels. So today, we'll have three lucky winners -- so be sure to ask Colette questions, make observations, etc. Maybe even tell us what classic tale you'd like to see given an erotic twist.

Q. Your third "Seducing the Classics" release, Bound by Honor, just came out last month. Tell us a bit about this erotic tale of Maid Marian, Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

A. I am a particular fan of love triangles, and I always thought it would be wonderfully fun to do the Marian/Robin/Nottingham love triangle in a "seduced" way. In fact, I've wanted to do this particular love triangle as an erotic novel for years, because I had a certain take on the story in mind, and was dying to try it out. It took me almost two years to convince my editor that Robin Hood wasn't just a kid's story (a la Disney's foxy Robin) and that this love triangle needed to be told.

But with the popularity of BBC America's Robin Hood series and the upcoming film with Russell Crowe as Nottingham, we finally agreed that the time was right. And in my book, you'll see a very strong-willed Marian, who is a woman bound by her honor to do what her liege orders her to do. She's smart and beautiful, and a very confident romantic heroine.

Robin of Locksley, aka Robin Hood, is a charming rakehell, who's very brave and a little egotistical. He's fully aware of his affect on women--the masked bandit who might sneak into the castle to steal a kiss before slipping off into the shadows. But he's also a little lost, looking for the right woman to love--even though he doesn't quite realize it. He's been displaced from his lands, and forced to become an outlaw as he tries to figure out a way to get them back.

William de Wendeval, the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, is a dark, angry man who once upon a time was an honorable knight. But now he struggles between his desires and that bruised honor, between what he knows is right, and what his liege demands of him.

Nottingham is the right-hand man of Prince John, who is a lecher and repulsive in his own right. John holds his own "Court of Pleasure" most every evening, inviting and at times demanding that the women of the court participate. Between his own version of chess, and the night of the "living statues," John is clearly a most lascivious, depraved man.

However, despite the erotic scenes in my books--which do push the boundaries of a "historical romance" novel, because there are sex scenes with characters other than the hero and heroine, and because they are sometimes intimate with others--at the heart of each one is a true love story. A real romance.

In my mind, what makes these erotic versions different from sexy romance novels is that the relationship between the hero and heroine grows and develops and is shown mainly through the sex scenes. Each sex scene, believe it or not, has a purpose in the development of the relationship, and that's how we see the relationship grow.

Q. I'm curious how the idea of retelling classic stories with an erotic twist came to you. Was it a deliberate effort or did the idea just come to you?

A. My first "seduced classic," UNMASQUED: An Erotic Novel of the Phantom of the Opera, was something I just started to write for myself. I am a fan of erotic novels, and I was always fascinated by Andrew Lloyd Webber's take on the original story. He romanticized and, dare I say, eroticized, the original in such a way that I was furious when Christine didn't stay with the Phantom at the end of the play/movie.

So I decided I wanted to not only know what happened down in his lair during those days she was there, but that I also wanted her to stay with the Phantom. So I wrote my version of the story, which was my first shot at writing an erotic novel. My agent loved it (although she confessed that it made her blush to read it), and we sold it to NAL. After that came a whole discussion about what classic I should do next. I wanted to do Robin Hood/Marian/Nottingham, but as I mentioned above, my editor wasn't as keen on the idea.

But when she suggested that I do a version of The Count of Monte Cristo, I jumped at the chance. It was a perfect book to write a "dirty" version of--the behind the scenes, what really happened when the doors were closed aspect.

In fact, unlike my version of The Phantom of the Opera, I followed the story line of Dumas's original classic very closely. I wrote much of the book from Mercedes's point of view, but there are actually three love stories in Master: An Erotic Novel of the Count of Monte Cristo, and I must say that I'm very proud of that book. Each relationship is very different, and again, as I mentioned above, each sex scene in that book further develops not only the hero and heroine's relationship, but also character.

The main story, that of Mercedes and the Count of Monte Cristo, is built around his desire for revenge on her for the wrong she's done to him. There's another subplot with a female slave who is the agressor in a relationship with another male slave. And the third is a very sweet love story in which the hero and heroine have a fence between them at all times.

Such fun I had with those three plots! I really loved that book. Throw in the fact that in the original Dumas there were not only orgies and hashish, but danger and a fascinating plot, and voila! The perfect idea for a "behind the scenes" look at the story.

Q. The covers for your books have been beautiful. I'm particularly partial to Bound By Honor. I love the colors. Do you have input into the covers, or are you totally surprised each time you see them?

A. I love my covers. And thank you for the compliments! I love them all, but when I saw the cover for Master, I thought it was the most beautiful cover I'd ever seen. But when I saw the cover for Bound by Honor, I had to change my mind! The art department really outdid themselves on it, didn't they?

I can take no credit for anything regarding the covers. The conception was all from the designers at NAL, and they're absolutely perfect. I just love them.

Q. Who are some of your favorite erotic romance authors?

A. I have always loved Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty series; in fact, after The Story of O, that was my first foray into erotica. I also love Bertrice Small's Skye O'Malley series--and I think she did wonders (Ms. Small, I mean) for helping to push the boundaries of romance into erotica, way back in the '70s/early '80s.

Q. What are you working on now? What tales do you hope to give an erotic twist in the future?

A. Right now, I'm not working on anything as a seduced classic. In order to do another one, I have to have the right idea, and I simply don't have an idea that has the right "feel." I have a couple of ideas in mind and we'll see if they pan out.

Part of the reason I'm waffling is because in each of my books, I generally write twenty chapters or so. And my goal is, because it's an "erotic novel," that there is at least one sex scene per chapter--i.e., someone's going to get off. Somehow, some way. ;-)

So that's a lot of sex scenes (60 in my eroticas alone), and, quite frankly, a lot of ways to have to describe an org*sm. Yannow? I want to keep the scenes fresh and erotic and titillating for both me and the reader, and I don't want the quality to suffer because I'm doing too many or rushing them. That's why I can only do no more than one erotic novel per year, at the most.

However, many of you know that I also write under my other name, which is a not-very-well-kept secret. I recently released the last in my Gardella Vampire Chronicles series, and I have a brand new series coming out in early 2010 that doesn't have vampires in it (it has zombies) and it isn't set in the past (it's set in the future). So I've been busy working on the first three books in that series, and hopefully Trish and the Banditas will have more information about that when the time is closer. ;-)

Q. Anything you'd like to ask our lovely blog visitors today?

A. Simple: Robin Hood or Nottingham? And why?

Don't forget to comment today for your chance to win one of Colette's steamy reads.

One of These Things...

by Tawny

Did you ever watch Sesame Street? If so, do you recall that little song, One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other? There was always a selection of somethings and given that the show targeted preschoolers, the something that didn't belong usually stood out pretty easily. For instance, Foanna's Tempt The Devil, Madame's The Dangerous Duke and my own Going Down Hard... They are all Bandita books, so that gives them the common ground. But Fo and Christine's books are both historicals and both are single title. Then there's mine- categoryand contemporary. One of these things is not like the other, right? And yet, they are all romances, all well written (well, I think so *g*) and all Bandita books.

Are you humming the song yet?

What put this in my mind was that I'm moving and to sell my house, I have to paint all my walls a neutral shade of vanilla. I have to remove all photos and personal items and create a blank slate to welcome potential buyers. I totally understand this in theory, I undestand why I need to lose the purple dining room and tortoiseshell hallway. I get that my framed bookcovers might not resonate with certain people and that they'd be a possible distraction from letting them imagine themselves living in the house. And honestly, I wouldn't want family pictures and photos of my kids on display for strangers anyway. So good girl that I am (don't laugh!) I have painted and packed and stored all the personality away in my house. And sighed.

Then yesterday my brother stopped by. Now, I hear quite often how alike my brother and I am. We look alike (if you've ever seen my cartoon avatar, he jokes that he drew a picture of himself with longer hair - really, we look that much alike). We have the same basic personality traits -smart alek, opinionated and a smidge neurotic. He's a graphic artist, I'm a writer. We both love to express ourselves. The list goes on and on. So he comes in, looks around at my neutral home and claimed for the first time ever- "Wow, the place looks great. I love it."

I almost hit him. But it really drove the point home that as much as we're alike, we're still vastly different. He likes neutral. He thrives on white walls and black furniture with glass and chrome accents. I live for color, plants and wood. People are always surprised to see how completely opposite we are in the home we surround ourselves with.

One of these things is not like the other...

and that is definitely a good thing.

How about you? Is there someone you're so much alike - a family member or friend -that you're usually compared to, and yet in some vital way you're completely different? Does it surprise you? And just out of curiousity - are you a color or neutral wall kind of person?

A View of The Lair Through a Cabana Boy's Eyes

posted by Joanie T

The place was a mess.

Not a surprise since his employers had held another one of their launch parties, Ricco thought, as he lifted another batch of margharita glasses from the industrial dishwasher. He set them down on the far end of the bar, picked up his Egyptian linen cloth and began polishing. The Banditas were very particular about spots.

Morning duty was a mixed blessing really. Lots to get in order; sweeping up debris, blender checks, chandelier repair. All work and little fun. He knew there was lots of exciting stuff going on in The Lair. Had to be with these creative types. Their imaginations are limitless and a little scary. He'd seen the looks on the party event staff's faces; befuddled, euphoric and occasional out right shock. Yep, those crews had the hardest job. Keeping the Banditas and their Buddies well stocked with an endless variety of alchoholic concoctions was a challenging task. Not to mention snacks, music, dancing lessons. Those conga lines were killers.

Maybe he should have taken that job at the post office.

A smile tugged at his lips. Nah, that would have been the polar opposite of this job. Day in day out sorting of envelopes vs. constant partying and never knowing what would happen next, which Bandita would require personal assistance. To be called by one of the Banditas? THAT was a coveted job.

Ricco glanced down from the bar situated on the mezzanine level of The Lair. He’d been told when hired by that fiery red headed Bandita JoMama that this was a club for a sedate, demure ladies group.

Hah!


There was more to it than that and his suspicions were being proven everyday. He was a second level cabana boy. He supposed he should be offended by being called a boy but when that Cassondra said it—purred it—he didn’t mind…even when she sashayed around all armed and ready. He knew weapons and that Bandita was lethal.

The required uniform…if black pirate pants and loose cotton shirts could be called that…and the daily mandatory workouts supervised by the Bandita known cryptically as AC were a bit much but hey, he liked keeping in shape.

He barely kept the Waterford flute in his hands from crashing to the floor at the loud crack coming from the exercise room. Ok, so that crop was concerning.

Nope, the Lair was definitely not your average club. For one thing it spread out in multi levels deep into the earth, up a mountain and he suspected had secret tunnels to the ocean. You had to be high level among the crews to descend into the depths. He swept his gaze over the gauze draped party room below. Oh, yeah, he wanted to advance.

Several of the third level guys were sweeping the floor which was a challenge as there were still Banditas and BB’s recovering from the last launch party for “Dark and Deadly.”
Ricco laughed out loud. Yeah, that about summed it up the world of The Lair.

The central floor area had a handful of silk covered chase lounges in a rainbow of colors. He recognized Duchess Hotdayum and Duchesse Snorkdom from the uninhibited way they were sprawled on the furniture with their pinkies crooked out. No etiquette involved there rather it was their trademark “C’mere cabana boy” signal. He smiled to himself. He’d been privileged to that before.

In the far corner that tall guy, Sven was working on his eighteenth massage. Poor guy looked exhausted but Ricco didn’t miss the heat in his eyes when he looked at that Aussie Christine. Even from up here, he could hear her murmur something about a "Wicked Little Game." It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Sven's frequent “Da’s” didn't just mean "Yes, Mme."

Ricco heard a rumble of thunder and cast a wary look to the balcony suspended in the air by what looked like clouds. He’d never figured how they did that but he wasn’t about to ask the goddess who was stretched out on it—on a cloud? This Bandita meant business with a capital B. He made a hasty check of the sangria, breathing a sigh of relief when he found the cabinet well stocked with her favored tropical blend. A shiver of excitement shot down his spine when he found her studying him with those midnight blue eyes. Not always good to gain her attention, not with those mammoth gladiators guarding her like Ft. Knox gold.

Caught in her gaze, he almost missed the one named Demetrius lifting his shield in silent salute to the Duchesse. The subtle nod they exchanged made his brows raise.

“Are you ready to par-tay?”

Ricco’s attention snapped back the hallway. No Hank Williams Jr. but a trio of Banditas rushing into the bar. Susan, Beth and Kirsten. Sweet, angelic smiles…and a glint in their eyes that set his nerves on edge.

“Plenty of wine, strawberries, mangos for the margaritas?” This from the one called Tawny or “Blaze” as she was nicknamed sauntering in behind them. Ricco cleared his throat at the sultry look she sent him, almost losing another glass.

“Don’t forget the appetizers,” called the Texan Bandita Suz. Ricco narrowed his eyes. Was that a rope she was twirling? Her avid gaze swept over him. His mouth went dry.

“Mimosas,” trilled Kate as she swept by with her witchy friend. “Don’t forget the mimosas. And appletini's. My guest needs appletinis!”

Ricco’s eyes widened at the woman riding a small dragon swooping in from the doorway. “Diet Coke for me,” called Nancy. She waved at Trish who’d just driven in with another multi-contracted deal with Donna and Christie. Those two called most of the cabana boys “Duke.” Strange.

The boys below were scurrying to finish the clean up directed by a tall, lithe Bandita with a brilliant smile and a gorgeous Chico’s jacket. She glared up at the goddess. “Don’t even think about it.”

Man, they were all here. Anna with those hockey hunks which he could take in a minute if it weren’t for those sticks, the other Anna from Oz who could barely carry all her awards but was still calling for a scotch on the rocks and cherry ripes and Tim Tams. Dang, the shipment of those hadn't arrived yet.

He was jotting down a note to rememdy that when a sultry voice asked, “Got anything, cold?”
Ricco raised his head at the murmured voice to stare at the elusive KJ. “I’ve just arrived from an expedition and..” She raked him with her hot gaze. “I’m thirsty.”

Ricco gulped.

“I’ve got turtles!” chirped frequent guest PJ.

“Eat ‘em fast,” said the dude in BDU’s as he checked the perimeter. “Me and my boy gotta get the place fastened down.”

He shook his head at the rooster following the guy around with a rucksack strapped to his back.

A flash of light caught Ricco in the eye as more guests began to arrive. It was a never ending party in this place, he mused as he broke out more ice. No other job like it.

“Cabana boy?”

He looked down at the Duchesse who crooked her finger at him.

Ricco grinned. Nope, no other job like it in the world.

While Ricco is busy…er, at his job. Who else is arriving today for the party? Any other cabana boys out there?

Lorraine Heath Takes Us Down Two Paths...

by Suzanne
A very good friend of the Bandits, NYT Bestselling author, Lorraine Heath, is joining us in the Lair once again. Excuse me while I pull the cork on this bottle of Chardonay. (pop) So y'all pull up a chair and join us for some conversation about Dukes, Scoundrels and Werewolves!

Suz, handing Lorraine a glass of wine, then stretching out on the chaise: Welcome, Lorraine! The Bandits and our buddies are so glad to have you with us again. It's always a grand day in the Lair when you're visiting. SURRENDER TO THE DEVIL is the third book in the Scoundrel’s of St. James series. Can you tell us about the book?

Lorraine: SURRENDER TO THE DEVIL is the story of Frannie Darling, a child of the streets. She is now a bookkeeper at Dodger’s Drawing Room, one of the more exclusive gentlemen’s clubs in London in 1851. When her best friend Luke marries Lady Catherine, Frannie meets the Duke of Greystone. Greystone immediately wants Frannie in his bed, but she has little tolerance for the idle and self-centered. She is far too busy gathering orphans from the streets. But when danger lurks, Greystone will be the man she turns to.

Suz: Was Frannie Darling based on a specific character in Oliver Twist, like Luke and Jack Dodger were?

Lorraine: Not really. At one point, I thought maybe she was based on Nancy, but I think she was simply herself.

Suz: How does her childhood as one of Feagan’s kids affect her life as a grown woman?

Lorraine: She’s always mothered Feagan’s lads. They’ve always watched out for her. But as a woman she wants to stand on her own, make her own way, do things her own way. When she begins to search for orphans, she runs amuck of Bob Sykes (yes, he’s based on Bill Sikes). She tries to handle him on her own, without involving Feagan’s lads—and that, of course, simply leads to more trouble.

Suz: Sterling Mabry, Lord Greystone is the hero of SURRENDER TO THE DEVIL. Have we met him before?

Lorraine: You caught a glimpse of him in IN BED WITH THE DEVIL. He’s Catherine’s brother who arrived from his world travels shortly after her father died.

Suz: Frannie wants nothing to do with the Lords and Ladies of London Society, while Sterling sees no need to help the poorer members of society? What do you see as the turning point in their relationship?

Lorraine: I think the turning point in their relationship came about when Jimmy came into their lives. Because he was such a slender-framed boy, he assisted Sykes in burglarizing homes and as fate would have it, one of those homes was Greystone’s—and the lad’s luck ran out. He was caught. But rather than send ’round for a constable, Greystone sent for Frannie in an effort to bring her back into his life. Jimmy allowed Greystone to understand more clearly what life was like for the children on the street who Frannie wanted to save and Jimmy allowed Frannie to see a very tender side of Greystone as he befriended the lad.

Suz: How do Feagan’s lads come to play in this story?

Lorraine: They do what they’ve always done: work to protect Frannie from hurt and in so doing, they smother her. Luke explains to Greystone how protective they are of Frannie: “So yes, the four of us circle around her the way one might an injured butterfly, never touching it for fear of damaging it more, forever hoping that a day will come when it will again fly.”

To which Greystone replies: “In my world travels, I saw a good many varieties of butterflies. They’re incredibly delicate creatures, but they shouldn’t be underestimated. Observing them as I did, I learned a valuable lesson. Sometimes if you surround a butterfly too closely, it couldn’t fly if it wanted to.”

He believes she’s stronger than they give her credit for being. As he’s drawn into her dangerous world, he begins to admire her courage and determination even more.

Suz: We’re going to switch gears now. I don’t know if many of our readers know this, but you are not only a NYT bestselling romance author, but you also write YA stories under the name Rachel Hawthorne. You’ve recently started a new YA series about teenage werewolves, which you are very excited about. Care to tell us about this project?

Lorraine, with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes: Would love to! The Dark Guardian series is about a group of werewolves (or Shifters as they refer to themselves) who live in a national forest. The teens of the group serve as guides—or sherpas—to ensure that no campers stumble across their village. I got the idea after watching a special on TV about the sherpa program in Glacier National Park. Each summer, college students work there hauling equipment for campers. And I thought, “What if they were werewolves?”

Suz: MOONLIGHT is already out, FULL MOON is coming out later this month, and DARK of the MOON debuts in August. Was it hard building a new parallel world for these books? Do you see the series continuing or is it only to span the 3-books?

Lorraine: The idea for the werewolf sherpas was just a shadowy concept when I sent my editor the storyline for a book. She wanted that story and 2 more with an overriding arc that connected all 3. Coming up with the mythos was a challenge. I’m not even sure I was totally comfortable with the world I’d created until the 3rd book. But then it was also the book that ended the threat they faced and so all the loose ends were tied up, whereas with 1 and 2 I was trying to determine which questions to leave unanswered.

I would love for the series to continue, but presently I don’t have a contract to write more.

Suz: So, tell us what’s next for your historical series?

Lorraine: Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel will be out Nov. 1. This is James Swindler’s story. Scotland Yard has charged him with determining why a certain young lady—Eleanor Watkins—is following the Marquess of Rockberry. It has quite a few fun twists and turns.

And now to segue into something that has nothing to do with MY books – I recently worked to arrange my bookshelves in some sort of order, putting all my keepers on one 1 shelf and all my to be read on another (and okay, the TBR take up way more than a shelf so I now have a “top shelf” TBR stack which are books that I dearly want to read before the year is out). Obviously I buy way more books than I’ll ever read. How do you keep chaos off your bookshelves? Or do you? Should you? How do you decide which book to read next when there are so many wonderful books out there?

And to add to the chaos of your bookshelves, we’ll draw three lucky winners from among the posters today and they can select one of the Scoundrels of St. James books or one of the Dark Guardian books as their prize. If the book hasn’t yet been released, it’ll be sent as soon as it’s available.

Untouched Winner!

Thanks so much to everyone who popped by to celebrate my R*BY final yesterday. I had a blast in the lair and poor Hugh Jackman has been officially shredded, so many people wanted to share an awards ceremony with him. I still think cloning is the best idea.

Anyway, the winner of the signed copy of UNTOUCHED, my 2009 Romantic Book of the Year finalist, is:

TAMARA!

Congratulations, Tamara. Please send me your snail mail details and I'll get your prize off to you. Happy reading!

Warriors...Why We Love Them

by Christine Wells

Despite certain aspersions cast by one Anna Campbell in yesterday's blog:), I'm a peaceable person by nature. As a child, I practised the odd faux karate move on my brother and the other annoying boys in my neighbourhood, but since those days, I haven't really been one for confrontation of any kind, much less the physical.

There are incidents in every woman's life when her man might see the need to defend her with his fists. A couple of times, I've been sick with apprehension in just that situation, because rather than thinking how romantic it is to have a man protect me, I get scared that maybe the other fellow has a knife or has friends nearby, or if my defender did punch the other guy's lights out, he might get arrested.

In fiction, however, it's another matter.

Big strong men who are prone to violence--I love reading about them and I love writing about them, too. THE DANGEROUS DUKE opens with my hero, Max, Duke of Lyle, dangling a man over a balustrade by the ankles until he agrees to hand over valuable information. In fact, that was the image from which the entire book sprang. If you read Max's story, you'll get a sense of a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his aims.
In my July release, WICKED LITTLE GAME, the Marquis of Vane has the huge, honed physique of a seasoned prizefighter. Unlike many of the Regency beaux who spar in Jackson's Boxing Saloon, Vane is a serious athlete. He trains with commitment and passion, the same way he does everything else (including love my heroine, Lady Sarah, but that's another blog!) I modeled him on Captain Barclay, a gentleman athlete who trained many top prizefighters of the day.
When Lady Sarah sees Vane stripped to the waist, engaging in sparring practice with a hulking great giant in his empty ballroom, she experiences a visceral reaction:

Nothing could have been farther from his usual demeanor than the sight that met her eyes in his ballroom tonight: a wild, primitive display of masculine aggression.

She ought to be disgusted. She’d never seen anything more magnificent in her life.

What is it about these fictional warriors that we love so much? Have you ever had your honour defended? (I know Donna has a story about that!) Were you scared, disgusted, triumphant? Did you tell him to step out of the way so that *you* could kick some butt?

Who is your favourite fictional warrior hero?

Bandita Booty

Helen!!!!!

Congratulations! Patricia Sargeant chose you to receive a copy of POWER OF LOVE, and Fichen1 to receive TAILS OF LOVE. Could you send your contact information to Patricia at http://www.patriciasargeant.com/ ?

Thanks everyone for stopping by!

'Tis the Season...

by Anna Campbell

..for awards!!!

I don't think it's any secret to our regular buddies that we LURVE awards and contests here in the lair. After all, it was a contest, the 2006 Golden Heart Award, that brought us together and mayhem has ensued every since.

Most of us are still bona fide contest sl*ts (sorry, girls, but I need to call a spade a spade) and our impressive list of continuing successes are listed in the Bandits Wanted column on the right of the blog.

The big daddy of published romance contests, of course, is the RITA Award.

I'm so excited that one of my favorite reads from last year, Christine Wells's wonderful THE DANGEROUS DUKE is up for best Regency romance. Go, Christine. I'll be cheering.

Well, I'll have to or else you'll hit me, seeing you've asked me to be your date for the awards night! You pack a seriously scary right hook, my elegant friend!

I too have some seriously exciting award news to report!

Romance Writers of Australia and our most popular women's mag, Woman's Day, unite every year to sponsor the Australian and New Zealand Romance Novel of the Year Award, the R*BY.

Last year, CLAIMING THE COURTESAN finalled which was incredibly exciting for me. This year, I'm delighted to let you know that my second book, UNTOUCHED, has finalled in the Long Romance Section. Go, you green monster!

This is a huge thrill for me, particularly as regarding contests in the U.S., I didn't have a horse in the running in 2008 (the Australian publication date for Untouched was January, 2008). I had a real crush on Lord Sheene, the hero of this book, and it's wonderful to know that other people have responded so positively to the story too.

Another nice effect locally is there's publicity via Woman's Day, including the announcement of the finalists on 1st June, the announcement of the winners and a chance to write another short story for WD. The mag has a huge circulation so this is a seriously big deal!

Anyway, huge congratulations to all the other finalists. It's a stellar line-up and I'm proud just to be listed among you. It will be an exciting Saturday night at the awards dinner for the local conference in Brisbane on 15th August when they announce the winners.

So what's your feeling about awards? Would they influence you to buy a book? I know I've checked out books that have won RITAs before and found authors new to me that I've ended up loving. Actually that's one of the great things about awards - they focus your attention on books you may have missed along the way.

I must say it's fun being in the audience for an awards night. It's a great excuse to get all glammed up and cheer on your friends! It's so exciting, whether you've been nominated or not!

So this got me thinking. If you could attend any awards - the Booker announcements, the Academy Awards, the Nobel Prizes, the Golden Globes (now, that's one that always looks like fun), the MTV Awards (I'm too old and square for that one!), the Emmys, the Grammys, the Logies, the BAFTAS, the SAG Awards (hmm, think I could win one of those. Oh, they're not for how gravity's attacked your body?), whatever, which one would you choose. And who would be your date?

And to celebrate my R*BY nomination for UNTOUCHED, one lucky commenter wins a signed copy of my green monster. Please let me know in your answer if you want to be in the draw! Good luck!

Fireflies

by Cassondra Murray

Steve and I went to Sonic tonight. Yes, we were desperate for quick, easy food. It's been a hard, fast, three-weeks-of-hell beginning to the summer (you'll hear more about that in later blogs from me almost certainly).

I don't have to work tomorrow for the first time in about 15 days straight, AND I'm sort of back online after a computer meltdown. Slow connection, but it's there. So the last thing I was gonna do tonight was cook. Okay, so there are stacks of boxes and books and the leftovers of a major garage cleanout piled in my kitchen and dining room, but the fact that I can't get to my cookware may or may not be a factor in the Sonic decision.

For you unfortunate souls who don't have Sonic near you, it's a double-sided drive-in with a big patio in the center. You can order right from your car, or you can get out and sit at the tables on the patio. We'd dug our way, with those stupid flimsy plastic forks, at least three bites into our foot-long chili-cheese dogs when we noticed the little girl at a table in the center.

She was probably seven or eight years old, and had on a purple outfit with a big glittery butterfly on the shirt, and long blonde hair. She was with her dad. He was eating a hot dog (not foot-long) and she was eating something that looked like popcorn chicken bites. But she was not eating many. She was too busy chasing fireflies.

There weren't many visible. There's way too much light around a Sonic to see them well. But she was completely entranced, jumping into the air and ducking under bushes trying to capture them. I got so caught up in watching her that I stopped eating less than six inches into my foot-long coney.

What is it about fireflies?

To this day, I think they're magic. Do all the research you want, tell me how and why they do what they do, and it won't dim their magic one bit for me.

I think it's because of the memories. Some of my best memories are of fireflies, or "lightning bugs" as we called them.

About this time of year in Southern Kentucky, the fireflies come out. Oh, nowadays there are a few rebels flickering their lonely little lights in early spring, but right about now...mid-June...that's firefly season here. It's also the time of year when it gets too hot in un-air-conditioned houses to enjoy sitting inside in the evenings. I did not grow up with air conditioning.

When I was little, in late May and early June, as the afternoons grew hot and humid, and the evenings grew warm, my dad would go outside after supper, in search of a cool evening breeze and the sound of the tree frogs and crickets, and since I went everywhere with my dad, I went outside too. He'd set up a lawn chair in the middle of the lawn. One of those cheap aluminum-frame chairs with the nylon webbing that lasted a couple of seasons if you were lucky.

Honestly though, the seating quality didn't matter much. We were there for the view. I grew up on a small farm about eight miles south of nowhere. No artificial light except the faint glow from the kitchen window around the side of the house. Quiet.

When my dad got his chair off the porch and headed for the front yard, I'd run into the kitchen and dig under the sink for my jar.

Mine was a Mason jar with a mayonaise lid. Daddy had taken a nail and hammered a few holes in the top for air flow.

Once I had my jar and he had his chair, we were ready for what, to this day, I consider some of the best evenings of my life.

First we'd sit until the last glow of day had faded in the West and the sky had grown dark. The stars flickered on just for us. If we put the chairs right in the middle of the lawn, we had a great view of the Big Dipper almost straight overhead.

Then came the contest--who could spot the first lightning bug in the tall, uncut fescue hay across the road. As the little bugs crawled up the grass from where they'd spent the day hidden, they'd start to flash, one by one. Just a flicker here, and a flicker there.

"There's one!" My dad would say in a loud whisper, then he'd lean forward and point, adding drama to the hunt. He always saw them first. Inborn talent I guess.

Soon though, there would be hundreds, all around, high and low, blinking and streaking across the yard like tiny shooting stars. My dad would hold my jar and keep the lid on real loose for expedient transfer of fireflies from my little-girl hands to the jar. To us, injuring a firefly was a sin almost as grave as the killing of a unicorn is today, in the world of Harry Potter. I'd chase the bugs and catch them ever-so-gently, then I'd run across the dewy grass and my dad would open the lid just a crack. Into the jar they'd crawl. Soon enough I'd have my own lantern.

This lantern was good, of course, only until the first mosquito bit my dad. Then it was time to go in, and the last ritual of the evening was to let the fireflies go.

Tonight I sat at Sonic and ignored my foot-long hot dog as I watched that little girl, and I realized that some magic is timeless. I'm not the only one enchanted by "lightning bugs." Apparantly it's nearly universal. When I googled pictures of fireflies, I found essays, research, pages and pages of photos of the bugs themselves, and even "faux fireflies in jars" with little electric firefly lights, just for effect I guess. Lots of people seem to want to hold onto a bit of the magic.

Catching a jarfull, just to let them go again is one of those things that goes away with make-believe and childhood I suppose. Sometimes I wonder why, as an adult, it's no longer fun to do simple stuff like that.

Nowadays I sit by my firepit with my very adult glass of cabernet, a long way from that dew-covered yard. I know the Latin names of the trees and plants around me, and I have the stresses and worries of an adult in a fast-paced world.

But I can still watch that same Big Dipper sail overhead, and listen to the frogs on the pond behind my house.

And I still go out there early, just so I can try to spot the first firefly.

So tell me, did you ever catch fireflies as a kid?

If you grew up in the city, were there fireflies there?

If you have kids or grandchildren, do they still like to chase the flickering lights?

Apparantly, in some parts of the world, the fireflies all light up at the same time, synchronized, like this picture on the right. Have you ever seen that happen?

What time of year do the fireflies come out where you live?

Do you pay attention, and watch for the first firefly each season? Or am I the only one who still does that?

Patricia Sargeant in the lair

hosted by Donna MacMeans

It's my pleasure to introduce you to one of the sweetest, kindest people I've ever met. I swear, if you look in the dictionary under "sweet"...Patricia's picture will be there. But please understand, this lady writes hot suspense. Her tagline "Romances to die for"

is a little too true. It's always the quiet ones, isn't it? Please welcome Patricia Sargeant.

Donna, thank you so much for inviting me to meet your Romance Bandits friends. I’m thrilled and honored to be here.

Donna and I met when I joined our local Romance Writers of America chapter, Central Ohio Fiction Writers, in 1999. She was chapter president at the time, and did me the great favor of providing feedback on the first romance novel I completed.

The novel went on the shelf, and I started a new one.

However, since then, both novels – You Belong to Me and On Fire – have been published, with no small thanks to Donna for her excellent input.

This month, I’m celebrating the release of my third single-title, Sweet Deception, and a benefits romance anthology, Tails of Love, for which Donna and I contributed short stories. Both hit the shelves June 2.

As I mentioned, Tails of Love is a benefits anthology. It features original short stories by Lori Foster
Stella Cameron, Dianne Castell, Kate Angell, Ann Christopher, Marcia James, Sarah McCarty, Sue-Ellen Welfonder, Donna and me. My short story, “Scaredy Cat,” features a heroine whose adopted stray cat plays matchmaker. I had a lot of fun with that story. I’ve tried to tell the story in part from the cat’s perspective.

Tails of Love will raise money for the Animal Adoption Foundation, a no-kill animal shelter in Ohio, as well as increase awareness of the needs of abused and abandoned animals and pets. Have you bought your copy yet? If not, I’ll wait here while you pop out to get one. Or two.

Sweet Deception is my first contemporary romance. You Belong to Me and On Fire are romantic suspense. It took me a little while to plot a story without dead bodies. But in the writing, I realized what really drives my stories are the themes. In You Belong to Me, the theme is family. On Fire’s theme is trust. Sweet Deception’s theme is identity.

The heroine is a dutiful minister’s daughter who leads a secret life as an erotic romance author. When she begins a relationship with another more famous author, her secret identity is revealed, and she's forced to choose between duty (the person her family wants her to be) and desire (the person she wants to be).

I think this is a theme to which most of us can relate. As women, we wear so many hats – wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, career professional – we sometimes lose track of who we are individually. Who is Donna MacMeans? Who is Patricia Sargeant? Who are you? Sometimes we allow other people to define us rather than taking the time to define ourselves.

Tell me, what is it about you or your interests that most surprise people? Define yourself. But let’s try to keep this PG rated.

I’ll start us off. People are most surprised when they learn I enjoy football, both college and pro. They’re also surprised when they learn I’m a runner. Now, I haven’t been getting many miles in, and watching me run may not be the prettiest sight, but I do enjoy it.

OK. Who’s up next?

One commenter will win a copy of The Power of Love. Twelve award-winning authors contributed original short stories for The Power of Love, a benefits romance anthology. All of the authors and their agents donated all of their proceeds to the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women's Shelter. In addition to raising money for this battered women's shelter, the anthology helped raise awareness of the problem of domestic violence.

Donna, thank you again for having me over.

My pleasure. You can find more about Patricia at www.patriciasargeant.com

Bandit Booty

by Christine Wells

For the prize draw from Jennifer Haymore's visit, a signed copy of A HINT OF WICKED goes to...

MsHellion!!!

Congratulations, Hellion! Please send your snail mail addy to me at christineATchristine-wellsDOTcom, and I'll pass your details on to Jennifer.

And remember, there's another chance to win both Jennifer's luscious A HINT OF WICKED and my July release, WICKED LITTLE GAME -- just enter our contest!

Outcasts, Misfits, and Heroes

by Trish and Nancy

This is a summer for outcast heroes. The seasonal blockbusters kicked off with Wolverine, followed by Jim Kirk in Star Trek. You could also make the case that Spock is a misfit hero, a son of two worlds who doesn't entirely fit in either. Into the mix dropped John Connor, who spent most of his youth on the run (and if you love strong heroines, check out Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on DVD).

I love this time of year, when all the big summer, popcorn movies -- the ones with superheroes, badasses and things that go boom (to borrow a phrase from you, Nancy) start hitting theaters. I love the misfit heroes because it's so much sweeter when they become a hero, you know? I enjoyed Wolverine, but I LOVED Star Trek. Have seen it twice, and it was worth the price of admission both times. I think Kirk is a misfit of his own making. He takes actions that purposefully make it an outcast. But Spock is an outcast -- from not one, but two worlds -- because of something he can't control, his parentage. I haven't seen Terminator yet, but I want to. Hopefully, soon.

I'd love to claim credit for the "boom" thing, but I think I got it from Jo. Someone blogged on boom a while back. Anyway, I've seen Star Trek only once so far but am eager to see it again. Despite being such a Trek geek, I don't think I'd love it as much if the characters hadn't pulled me in. Zachary Quinto was great as Spock, and he had big shoes to fill. The original Trek episode "Amok Time" revealed the dichotomy in Spock (I think it was that episode), but this movie really explored it. You make a good point about Kirk choosing to be an outcast while Spock was born one.

Misfit and outcast heroes don't just appear in movies, though. They're a staple in books, too. Acheron spent most of his youth as a despised outcast. Hugo in The Unknown Ajax (Georgette Heyer) is despised by his family until he saves their skins and they realize he isn't the bumpkin they assumed he was. Beast of "Beauty and the Beast" is a classic example. By extension, so is every hero in stories based on that tale.

Jayne Ann Krentz's Gideon, the hero of Ravished, is shunned by his community until the heroine, a fossil hunter, forces him into the light. Sabrina Jeffries' Marcus North, Viscount Draker, in To Pleasure a Prince is feared by Society until love forces him into its circles.

Two of my all-time favorite books have outcast heroes. The first is Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi. Pam is writing contemporaries now, but I first fell in love with her historical romances because they're Americana and she writes fantastic characters. Jess is a very unconventional hero in that he's "slow" because he was oxygen deprived at birth. But he's so very endearing and totally believable as a hero. He reminds me a bit of Forrest Gump -- a bit slower but he knows what love is. And you totally understand why the heroine, Althea, would fall in love with him.


The other book is Jackson Rule by Dinah McCall (original cover at left). The heroine, Rebecca Hill, is a preacher's daughter, and Jackson Rule is a convicted killer who has done his time when she hires him to work in her greenhouse. He just wants honest work, something that is often hard to get if the stigma of prison is attached to you.





Getting back to the geeky movies we so love, the reboot of Jim Kirk has a wild edge Shatner never did, maybe because we didn't see the original Kirk in bar fights. Is wildness part of the outcast or misfit hero?

I think it makes them more interesting, a bit of the bad boy that readers often love to fantasize about because they'd never date or marry them in real life. The fantasy of taming the wild/bad boy is a powerful one. I do love stories where the outcast hero, who might not seem destined for a happily-ever-after or had anyone believe in him, gets both in a strong heroine. I love that message there being love out there for everyone, even heroes who don't make it easy to love them. It's also interesting to see characters like Kirk go from reckless, self-centered men to selfless heroes. It's a big, interesting character arc.

While not necessarily romantic-type heroes, the misfits are common on TV programs too. Look no further than Monk or House. Or the many different characters on Heroes.




I didn't even think about Monk! I agree with you about Heroes, too. And one of my favorite series, featuring an ex-covert agent who doesn't know what to do with himself, is back. If you haven't checked out Burn Notice on the USA Network, you've missed a treat.

Getting back to your point about bad boys, though, I also like to see them find strong women who can get through their armor. There's a reason the reformed rake (Rhett Butler, anyone?) is such a popular hero, but wild guys don't tame so easily in real life. Books are a safer way to explore them.

So, banditas and buddies, who's your favorite bad, outcast, or misfit hero? Do you like the summer blockbuster or like your movies quieter?

The Thief, the Bear, and the Bride of Light

By Kirsten Scott

The world lost a great author this week. David Eddings, the bestselling author of the Belgariad and Mallorean series, passed away on June 2, leaving behind legions of fans. Many, like me, believe that he was one of the greatest authors of all time, right up there beside Tolkien for the richness and power of the world he created. 

Of course, Eddings wasn't a romance writer. So why, you may ask, am I talking about him here? I want to call attention to a gift Eddings had -- a gift for creating memorable characters. This is something all authors strive to do, and in some ways, what he did was very simple. But in other ways...well, let's just say a true master makes it look easy. 

So how do you create memorable characters? I teach a class on writing to kids, and I tell them that they've got to find something unique about their characters. Something other than, "medium height, brown hair, and blue eyes." For each character they create, I make them tell me two or three things about their character that couldn't describe anyone else. 

Two or three truly unique things. 

Now this may sound easy. You can make up unique things all day long (he's got a tattoo of a lizard on his butt! he only drinks Gatorade! she eats ants!). The hard part comes in thinking of unique things that relate back to the plot, the conflict, and characters sense of self. 

Ouch. Now I don't want to get too writerly  on you, but this is interesting stuff. Think of the best characters from fiction. Harry Potter anyone? What are his two or three things? The lightening scar, that's number one, and that relates directly to his quest, right? His bed under the stairs, that's another big one. That bed marks him as different. As having a destiny apart from his miserable Muggle family. 

In the Belgariad, the thief, the bear, and the bride of light were mentioned in a prophecy. They were essential to saving the world -- it only takes a few books to realize that the big burly guy with the chest like a ... um ... bear, IS the bear. And the guy with the twitchy nose who's always stealing stuff? Oh yeah. He's the thief. How did we miss that? (Man, Eddings was good!) 

So these unique things don't have to be weird. I mean, describing someone as a bear isn't exactly a genius of a metaphor. But it works because it means something for that guy, who is also tough, brave, and loyal to his teeth. It sticks in your mind. It defines the character. 

But let's take it out of fantasy and bring it back to romance. Anyone remember a certain hunky guy described as a "brick wall"? (You can save your answers for the comments. ;-)  ) 

I wonder if this explains some of the draw of the vampire and werewolf books. You can't miss creating a memorable character when you make him inhumanly beautiful, and, well, a vampire.  It's character and metaphor all in one (and even better when you make him a vampire who fights the urge to hunt humans!). 

In my YA, my heroine's Grandma plays a big role. The reader doesn't quite know if she's completely senile or fooling everyone -- and that extends to her outlandish sense of style (she's got an obsession with matching track suits and baby doll make-up) and propensity for running red lights. I hope she's memorable to readers, like she is to me. 

So taking this writing analogy one more level, I think we can all learn a little about ourselves by coming up with these two or three "defining" characteristics. I thought about this myself, and here's what I came up with: 

1) I like to think I'm not competitive, but I'm really uber-competitive. That's why I try to avoid competition -- I really really really don't like to lose. 

2) My first name (Kirsten is my middle name) means mermaid. I love this about myself. I love that my name is unique, and I love that it relates to water. I feel like I have a real calling to the water. When I was little, I actually sort of believed if I stayed under long enough, I'd learn how to breathe down there. 

3) I chew obsessively on my cuticles. Tear 'em to shreds. Blood and everything. It's gross, it's infantile, and I can't stop it. It's the real me. A bit OCD, not a true lady, and a slave to her compulsions. :-) 

So back to you, dear readers. What makes you YOU? If you were a character in a novel, what two or three things would the author pick out to describe about you? Do you refuse to sleep in anything but silk or satin? Do you harbor a secret passion for corn dogs or deep fried twinkies despite your commitment to a vegan lifestyle? Are your feet a size six but you shove them into a size 5 just because you always wanted to be a size 5? Are you an expert tae-bo boxer? Do you hoard gardening magazines even though you live in an apartment in the city? 

Please, let us get to know you! And I want to hear who else remembers the brick wall! 

 

Into the Dread Forest . . .

by Nancy


Today we welcome back YA author Gillian Summers and her alter-egos, Michelle Roper (below left) and Berta Platas (below right). They're celebrating the launch of The Secret of the Dread Forest. This is half-elven Keelie Heartwood's third outing and the final book of the Faire Folk Trilogy.


Welcome, y'all! For those who aren't familiar with the Faire Folk, who is Keelie Heartwood, and why is she in the Dread Forest?




Michelle: Keelie Heartwood is a California girl, who discovers while living with her Dad on the Ren Faire circuit that he's an elf, and that makes her half-elf. The Dread Forest is the home forest for her father's tribe of elves.





Berta: Keelie initially doesn’t want to leave California or live with her father, and especially dislikes the Renaissance Faire. She has a lot of changes in store!



How has Keelie changed over the course of the trilogy?

Michelle: She's gone from a grieving teenager, totally overwhelmed with her new magical abilities and the discovery of the elves to someone who is learning and accepting her place in her new world.

Keelie's journey begins when she arrives at the Renaissance Faire, and she
tree allergy she's had all her life turns out to be tree magic inherited from
her tree shepherd father, Zekeliel Heartwood. As Keelie opens herself to her
magic, she discovers more and more about the trees, and her elven side.
As she learns how to balance her magical abilities with the trees, she also
grieves the loss of one parent, and getting to know her father, along with living
in a new environment. It's a lot to throw at a kid, but she handles it.

The Tree Shepherd's Daughter is the first book in the Faire Folk trilogy. It starts when fifteen year old Calilfornia girl, Keelie Heartwood has to go and live with her father on the Ren Faire circuit, after she loses her mother. At the Renaissance Festival, Keelie experiences another world within the Renaissance world, she discovers magic and that her father is an elf. And that means--she's not totally human.

Into The Wildewood continues Keelie's story as she travels with her Dad to an upstate New York Renaissance festival. She is still grieving the loss of her mother, adjusting to life with her father, and discovering her magic. To complicate matters, the elves are getting sick, the forest is not well, and the Wildwood unicorn, the forest guardian is dying.


A hawk figures prominently in this book and earlier ones. What inspired you to use it?

Michelle: At the Georgia Renaissance Faire there are raptors who cannot be released into the wild. I thought as a character, Keelie could relate to an injured hawk. Keelie is grieving for her mother and her old familiar life. An injured hawk has to grieve for its freedom and for the life it once had.

Berta: Yes, the hawk’s frustration mirrors her own. Because the hawk is half blind it can no longer hunt or fly well. Keelie identifies closely with Ariel the hawk. Hawks are so beautiful, and can be so strong and deadly. We saw Keelie’s potential that way as well. Her growing powers, if she chooses to accept them and learn to use them, will make her a force to be reckoned with. If she doesn’t learn, she’ll be just as injured as Ariel.


There's no Ren Faire in this book, as there was in the first two. What takes its place?

Michelle: We have lots of fun things taking the place of the Ren Faire. The setting of the Dread Forest allows readers to see the home forest of the elves. There is a 'human' town that borders the Dread Forest, and we created some fun characters, including a tattoo artist who reside in this unique place and befriends Keelie.

Berta: We wanted to have a Ren Faire in each book, but there was no way to cram one into this story, and it was a story that we had to tell before we went on with Keelie’s adventures. The next book definitely has a festival, as do the next two, but as Michelle said, there’s plenty of exciting stuff happening in this one. Lots more magic, for one thing.

Keelie seems to be having some romantic issues. Can you tell us a little about those?

Berta: Keelie has an ugly surprise waiting for her in the Dread Forest. I won’t say anything more about that. I will say, though, that she gets to spend much more time with Sean than she has before, since he’s not working. Elves are such workaholics. Who knew? He’ll be in the Redwood forest with her in book four, as well.

What unusual goodies do you have on Gillian’s website?

One way we connect with readers is by adding to the published stories. Gillian's website has a map of the fair from The Tree Shepherd's Daughter, and we're putting the finishing touches on a map of the fair from Into the Wildewood because readers requested it. For Into the Wildewood we also posted paper dolls of Knot the cat with various outfits, suitable for the color, cut and paste kid in all of us! At Halloween last year we posted a short story on our blog about Knot's visit to the elven pumpkin patch. As you can imagine, no good came of it.

Besides Keelie’s further adventures, what’s ahead for Gilian Summers?

We plan to write stories about Keelie's friends, too. Laurie, her old friend from California, and Raven the herb lady's goth daughter, will get stories, and so will her new friend in the Dread Forest.

What has been happening with Gillian Summers since you were here last year?

Seems as if it was just the other day! Had we announced the continuation of the series then? We’re doing three more Keelie books! We just finished an appearance at TimeGate 2009, a science fiction and fantasy convention where we hosted a launch party for The Secret of the Dread Forest, and were surprised by a group of kids who made a role playing game of The Faire Folk for a school project! It’s based on Dungeons and Dragons rules, and it’s amazing! What a huge amount of work and dedication, and so much fun! We’re wrapping up our May contest this weekend. We have two autographed copies of the new book to give away on our blog, and on June 20th we’ll be signing at the Norcross Hilton on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard at 2:30 pm, joining several other authors. The public is welcome! Romance Bandit readers don’t have to enter our contest – we have an autographed copy for you to give away here (much better odds, believe us).

For more about Gillian Summers and Keelie's adventures, visit Gillian's website.

Do you remember teenage angst? Do you like the outdoors or are you, as Keelie starts out, much more at home at the mall? If could have a magical power, how would you use it?

Eloisa James Returns to the Lair!

by Anna Sugden

It's always a pleasure to welcome back Lair favourite, Eloisa James. And not just because we know it means another book is available in her awesome Desperate Duchesses series!

Having said that, I know many of us have been waiting eagerly for the release of her latest book - This Duchess of Mine - where we will find out how the rocky romance between Jemma and Elijah plays out. (Thank goodness, we only have to wait until July to see which lucky woman wins the heart of the divinely delicious Villers in A Duke of Her Own!)

Don't forget, you can keep up with all the latest releases and so much more at Eloisa's website - http://www.eloisajames.com/

So, without further ado, I'll hand over the reins to Eloisa.

Your Cheatin' Heart

There are a few rules that every romance writer learns early on. Don’t make your hero an artist. Better not to make him a stripper, either (though it’s a fine profession for heroines). Some of these rules are almost impossible – for example, if your heroine was captured and sold into a) prostitution or b) a harem, try to arrange that she’s still a virgin years later. Tough, yes. Impossible? No! Loretta Chase has a fabulous novel, Don’t Tempt Me, coming out with just that premise in July.

I knew readers don’t like infidelity – and yet I started a series of six books with just that premise: a broken marriage. A really broken marriage. Neither Elijah nor Jemma, the Duke and Duchess of Beaumont, had been true to their wedding vows.

But you know what? I think the best books come out of turning that sort of rule on its head. In my experience readers are not lemmings, throwing books over the cliff the moment the hero picks up a pencil. For me, the key to a romance is making the reader feel, if only for a moment, that perhaps this marriage won’t end happily. The publisher has contrived every possible signal to emphasize the genre; look at the flowers, foil and pink on the cover of This Duchess of Mine. So she expects that the relationship will end happily. But I want her to doubt it – because I think that doubt is what makes a happy reading experience.

Another rule? A romance should be realistic. The truth is that people do cheat on each other. The key to making that work in a romance has to be their motivation. If a hero rattles off his vows and then edges up to a bar trying to find a cheerful blonde, it’s may be realistic, but it’s no fun. The key to writing about infidelity in a romance is remembering that reasons for unfaithfulness are as diverse as men and women themselves.

I gave Elijah and Jemma reasons for the mishaps in their early marriage. There’s one thing we sometimes forget as romance writers, perhaps because we often stop at the vows. Marriage is hard. Elijah and Jemma forge their love for each other by truly coming to know each other. They win back what they lost by honesty, love and forgiveness (and OK, the great sex doesn’t hurt either).


When I read a romance, I want to feel worried that the relationship won’t work – and then delighted when it does. What about you? There are other authors out there who have bravely marched into the thorny fields of adultery – which novels do you think worked and which didn’t? And why?

We've got some fabulous prizes today - three (yes, three!) lucky commenters will win signed, hard-back, UK editions of Desperate Duchesses!!

Hot Summer Nights (and Days) in the Lair! June's Coming Attractions

by Tawny Weber

Welcome to June! We'll be having wild times in the Lair, naturally, with some awesome guests and fabulous fun.

We kicked of our month with Jeanne Adams much-anticipated sequel to Dark and Dangerous!!! Check out her 4-1/2 star release of Dark and Deadly. How sexy is that cover?!




Yesterday, Jennifer Haymore visited to discuss A Hint of Wicked - talk about a fun visit!! And we got to hear how she and our very own Christine first met!






On the 4th, Anna Sugden lured the awesome Eloisa James into the Lair - so you KNOW that's going to be a fun day. Be sure to stop by and hang out while we discuss This Duchess of Mine.







On June 5th, Gillian Summers returns to the Lair to discuss The Secret of the Dread Forest. This is the third of the fabulous Faire Folk young adult trilogy featuring half-elven heroine Keelie Heartwood.







What an awesome kick off, huh? And if that wasn't a wild enough first week, then on the 8th we'll welcome Patricia Sargeant and
her June release, Sweet Deception.



Hmm... I'm seeing a gorgeous cover theme going on in the lair this month, aren't you?



The 12th is going to be so much fun. Our very own Suzanne Welsh invited the talented Lorraine Heath back to visit and talk about Surrender To the Devil among other things!! You know you want to stop by and visit - its gonna be a great time!







Then we'll chat about Bound by Honor with Colette Gale on the 15th - and hear more about that STUNNING cover!



Talk about evoking emotion- it's so intense, isn't it?





For those who like chills and psychological suspense, Caren Crane is hostessing thriller author Alexandra Sokoloff, who'll be hanging out on the 16th. We'll find out about Alexandra's newest mind-blowing release, The Unseen.




On the 19th, we'll have the pleasure of Catherine Spangler's company, when I hope she'll talk a little about this gorgeous hunk on the cover of Touched by Light!!



and on the 21st Jennifer St. Giles is visiting the Lair. In addition to giving us a peek at her hot new Shadowmen paranormal, she'll discuss Taking Control of your Writing Career. Whether you are a published author or an aspiring author, staying viable in this crazy market is a real challenge. What can you do to help put yourself in the driver's seat.

Anna Louise Lucia is here on the 22nd. With a title like Dangerous Lies, you know you want to stop in and find out more, right?!



the 26th we'll have a visit from Missy Tippens, who's celebrating the release of her second Love Inspired contemporary, His Forever Love. Talk about inspiring -what a gorgeous cover, huh?



Then we'll wrap up our wild partying with one last guest on the 27th when we welcome Karin Tabke, who'll be talking hot Knights of a completely hunky kind when we discuss her latest release, Master of Craving - the third book in the Blood Sword Legacy.

Hmm, with that kind of lineup, who needs to leave the computer. Just hang out with us all month - it'll be tons of fun!!

So other than hanging out here in the lair and chatting with all these awesome guests -what are YOUR big plans for the summer? (or in alternate climates *g* plans for winter!)

More Booty!

by Christine Wells

For the prize draw from Sherry Thomas's visit, a signed copy of Not Quite a Husband goes to...

Barbara Monajem!!!

Congratulations, Barbara! Please send your snail mail addy to me at christineATchristine-wellsDOTcom, and I'll pass your details on to Sherry.

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden

We have another winner! Esri Rose's random selector picked one lucky visitor to receive a copy of her book Stolen Magic.

So, without further ado ... drumroll please ... the winner is:

Stacey Kayne!

Congratulations, Stacey. If you can send your snail mail addy to me at anna@annasugden.com, I will make sure you get your prize.

Jennifer Haymore -- Three's not Always a Crowd

by Christine Wells

Joining us in the lair today my good friend, Jennifer Haymore, whose new release A HINT OF WICKED is taking the historical romance world by storm!

Jennifer and I first 'met' online when we were both members of the same critique group. I still remember how excited I was when I first read her work and it's no surprise that today, Jennifer's first historical romance for Grand Central Publishing is flying off the shelves.

Jennifer, welcome to the lair! Pull up a cabana boy--ahem, I mean, chaise longue--and tell us a bit about A HINT OF WICKED.

A HINT OF WICKED is a spicy historical romance about Sophie, a woman who’s spent seven years mourning her husband lost at Waterloo. She finally marries again only to have her first husband return less than a year into her new marriage. She’s legally bound to her first husband, her second husband is appealing to the courts, and she’s completely torn between the two men.

What inspired you to write this story?

The core idea for A Hint of Wicked was my husband’s—I use him as a sounding board and a brainstorming partner all the time. The story, however, has developed quite a bit from his original “vision,” which was of an enraged husband catching his mourning wife in bed with another man. I latched on to that scenario and ran with it…but I don’t think I ran in the same direction he envisioned for the story! I guess that’s my prerogative as the writer .

I remember when we found each other on an online critique group -- we were both yet to be published. I still recall the vivid picture you painted of your setting, rich with historical detail. When is A HINT OF WICKED set and how did you go about researching the period? Is there any interesting fact you unearthed that you'd like to share?

A HINT OF WICKED is set in the spring of 1823 in London. While I was writing the book, I became addicted to Google books (www.books.google.com). There’s nothing quite like a source written in the same time period you’re writing in. I now have an extensive, organized Google books library filled with books written in the early 19th century about everything from medicine to fashion to travel and architecture and dinner menus. The rather bizarre cure for opium overdose in A HINT OF WICKED is taken from these texts!

The dilemma your heroine Sophie faces is one many women would like to have--a choice between two very sexy men! But of course, it is a wrenching decision for her. Can you explain a bit about the appeal of each man and the appeal of the "two guys and a girl" storyline generally?

Mmm…the appeal of Garrett and Tristan? Easy!

Garrett: Sophie’s first love, possessive, a military man & leader, rough & dangerous, loyal, quiet & keeps to himself, blue-eyed and muscular, has always loved her

Tristan: Tall, dark and handsome, loyal, charismatic & charming, refined & aristocratic, a leader, treats Sophie as an equal, wants to protect her & has always loved her

I think it’s a common woman’s fantasy to be fought over by two wicked & sexy men. I’m not sure the reality would be so great, but the fantasy…yum!

Best of luck with A HINT OF WICKED. I'm sure it will be a huge success. What's next for you?

A TOUCH OF SCANDAL picks up four months after A HINT OF WICKED ends, and it’s due on the shelves in April, 2010. It’s hard to talk about ATOS without revealing spoilers for AHOW, but I will say that it’s the continuing story of the “losing” man from the first book. Most of the characters from the first book make an appearance, and Lady Rebecca, Garrett’s younger sister, plays a key part in the story’s conflict. The third book in the series (currently untitled) is Rebecca’s story.

Sounds fabulous, Jennifer. Looking forward to reading it!

OK, here we go...Please tell our readers 3 quirky things about you.

1. I love to watch my son play baseball, but my nerves get so tied up in knots that I usually have to turn away or close my eyes when he’s pitching (otherwise, I might throw up!).

2. I’m a terrible loser (just ask my husband, whose gotten playing cards thrown into his face more than once. In my defense, he tends to gloat obnoxiously when he wins…).

3. I turned in a book to my editor at 3:00 a.m. this morning!

Yay, double congratulations are in order!
And now, for our contest...Jennifer wants to know, given just the descriptions of Tristan and Garrett above, who would you choose and why? The prize is a signed copy of A HINT OF WICKED!

Jennifer and I are running a Wicked Contest together. For more details, please check either Jennifer's or my contest page.

T-Minus One Second and....LAUNCH!!!

Yes, you guessed it, another Launch Party in the Lair!! Woohoooo! Nothing like a party with the Romance Bandits.
Today, June 1, is the official Launch for Dark and Deadly, my second Romantic Suspense. Whew! A milestone, indeed. I'm now officially multi-published.

Whaddya know? How the heck did that happen?

As I wrote this, I was thinking a lot about my debut, Dark and Dangerous. It hit the stands on June 1, 2008. Same Time, Last Year.

I didn't know then what I know now.

That sounds trite, doesn't it? However, any of you who have children will be familiar with this feeling. Everyone tells you when you're pregnant that your life is about to change irrevocably. You know it too. You think you understand it. And in some ways you do understand that monumental change that's overtaking you. In every other way?

Ohhhh, you don't understand anything and you are in for the ride of your life!

Even if you don't have kids, you get this. You've been there with a job, or a life change like a marriage or a divorce, or a lay-off.

Same thing with getting that first book published. You know things are about to change. Things HAVE changed the moment you sign the contract. So, analogous to finding out you're pregnant, you get The Call and sign the contract and everything suddenly shifts into high gear. You turn the book in. You make the requested revisions. You make more revisions. You wait. You prepare - like buying for a nursery, you have to choose: what fits in the budget? How much room do you have? Book marks or magnets? Ads in RT or no ads anywhere?

It's a blur.

The book comes out, hopefully to notice if not acclaim, and you're on your way. Now you're not just writing for contests, for that hope of publication; NOW you have a deadline and someone is paying you to meet it.

There are some things I promised myself I would try to never do, when I sold. So far, I'm doing pretty well. Here are a few:

Never complain about having a deadline, since there are thousands who would love to be in your shoes.

Okay, I'm doing well with this one because I actually LIKE deadlines. They motivate me - sometimes in a positive way, sometimes with a whip and a chair - but either way, I get-er- done when I have a deadline. The other thing here is, at risk of repetition, someone is paying me to deliver a product by a certain date. Period. That, right there, is motivation enough for me.

Trust me, I'm a good old American Capitalist. I LIKE to get paid, even if it isn't that much at first, it's that much and I'm there to fulfill my contract.

Never complain about how "hard" it is to find time to write.

I'm one of the luckiest people on earth. I know this. I have a great husband who supports what I do, my sons are proud that their mom "writes books," even if they have no idea what the scope of that entails.

I have a good writing schedule.

If I don't have time to write, it's no one's fault but my own. I bow down in homage to those who get up at 5 am to write before the kids get up, or take a quick nap when their spouses come home so they can stay up after everyone's asleep to slip in some writing time. They do it on breaks at the day job, in between chemo appointments with their mom, while in the car pool lane, or on the night shift.

Trust me, I know how lucky I am, and I keep my mouth shut, even when it seems like I have so much non-writing stuff to do that I don't know how I'll find the time to write.

I'm lucky. I'll find it.

Never disparage another writer's work, or process, or genre.

You know, there are still so many who look down on Romance as a genre. Feeling the occasional sting of that, I resolved a while back that I wouldn't "return the favor" to any other genre.

Are there books I don't like. Yes.
Are there genres I don't read? Yes, again.
Are they all valuable? Oh, my, YES!

It takes a mystery, fantasy, literary, YA or horror writer just as long to write 415 manuscript pages as it does for me to do it. Even Poets have to struggle with word choice and character arcs and the dreaded sagging middle. Just because my genre seems to be especially persecuted (bodice ripper anyone?) after years of proving our worth, doesn't mean we are somehow better. Or Worse.

Now, I'll be a little proud here and remind all of YOU that Romance is the only reliably selling, powerfully deliverable product in the book world right now, according to the Washington Post and several other articles.

It's a justifiable pride I think, but I try to do it without accompanying prejudice.

And process? Oh, my.

I wrestled so hard with my early work, trying to fit the writing and me into SOME kind of process. Plotting. Nope. Outlining. Nope. I don't use the tools that others use, but if I hadn't tried them I would have missed some incredibly valuable lessons.

That said, the best lesson was that I'm NOT a plotter nor am I a chapter-by-chapter pantzer. I don't outline. I DO write a synopsis and I follow it pretty well, but otherwise? For me it's a big, fat surprise all the way from "A Dark and Stormy Night" to The End.

My process is a thing of murk and mire, rather than clean lines and an arrow shooting from a drawn bow.

I heard NYT Author PC Cast call it the Brew and Spew method of writing.

Yep. That I can understand.

So, whether you're plotter to the max - chapter one, scene one, two, three - or a Murk and Mire, Brew and Spew writer like me, I lift my glass in toast. Here's to US, writers all!

*clinkclinkclinkclink* (Wow, lots of clinking glasses! I LOIKE it!!)

Last but not least, the thing I said I would try my BEST to not do? Pontificate.

Yeah, you heard me. Despite the length of this tome of a post, have I said "you should do this!"?

Nope. Not. Gonna. Do. It.

I heard a lot of "YouShouldDoThis" when I first joined my chapter and RWA. I think in that adolescent period between being a nascent writer and a seasoned one, you find that your process is "the groove" and you want to share it with everyone as if it were the one-and-only-gospel-of-writing-amen. Then you get past it and see that some people Brew, some Plot, some fly by the seat of their Harem Pants, some slog, some sing, but all writers write to The End. No matter how we get there, we get there.

I mostly try to just accept that others do it differently.

So, the only "should" is that we should all get our bums back in our OWN chairs! Hahaha! (Anyone out there wince? No? Good for you!!)

So, now that I've broken my rule a wee bit and pontificated, what are some things you hope you remember NOT to say?

What are some things you hope you ALWAYS remember from "The Before THE CALL" time?

Imagining yourself down the road with your third book on the NYT, what would YOU tell a brand new author?

And last but not least on the questions, how would you answer the question La Nora seems to ALWAYS get asked.....drum roll please....WHERE do you get your ideas?

SNORK!!!! AND...As always, grab a glass from a passing cabana boy or Gladiator (Marcus? Lucien? You're ready over there at the bar, right?) Let's stack 'em, rack 'em and pack 'em (books that is) and celebrate Dark and Deadly hitting the shelves! Buy early and often! hahaha!

DINA!!!!

You're the winner of the copy of THE EDUCATION OF MRS. BRIMLEY from the TAILS OF LOVE blog. Send me your contact info at www.DonnaMacMeans.com and I'll get that right to you!

CONGRATULATIONS!