Crazy for Love
Victoria Dahl

“…couldn’t wait to see what happened next.”
Lysa C.

Rating:

Victoria Dahl is known for heartfelt, interesting romances, and that’s almost what you get in Crazy for Love. You definitely get interesting and funny. Heartfelt, not so much. More fun-loving, neurotic and dramatic fits the bill for this romance that you’ll be loath to put down.

When Chloe Turner’s fiance fakes his own death rather than marry her, Chloe is labeled by the media as Bridezilla and hounded by the media to the point of desperation. Leaving her good friend Jenn no choice but to whisk her away to an island off the coast of Virginia. Only Jenn and Chloe hadn’t intended for two hunky brothers to vacation in the cabin next to theirs. Nor did they believe for a minute that those same two might not recognize either women. But, as luck would have it, one is totally into his job to the point of distraction and the other had been on a boat in the Mediterranean for the past three months.

Max and Chloe hit it off right away. Their attraction is intense and very satisfying to read. There are totally so many laugh-out-loud moments…read more or buy Crazy for Love now!

The Renegade
Rhonda Nelson

“…ultimately the sweetest of the men’s stories…”
Zara B.

Rating:

Rhonda Nelson’s next Men Out of Uniform story, The Renegade, while still super, super hot is ultimately the sweetest of the men’s stories I’ve read so far! The Ranger is filled with intrigue, romance, hot sex, mythology…all making the story come alive within its pages to fuel your fantasies and your romantic side.

Tanner Crawford and Mia Hawthorne were college sweethearts on a path for …read more or Buy The Renegade now!

I always think of the  beginning of September as the ‘new year’ – well, the new academic year anyway. I suppose it’s because of all those years when school started back at this time, the the college year just a little bit later. Then years of being a mother with a school age son, married to a teacher  . . . all that added up to make me associate this time fo year with new beginnings and fresh starts, almost more than January 1st.

So it seems appropriate that  right now Harlequin Mills and Boon are announcing their brand-new look with fresh exciting cover designs, and giving readers a sneak peek at them over on their UK web site.  The new covers are being launched in September  and the whole range of  Mills and Boon romances are going to look very different.

What I  – and I think most authors – like about these new covers is the way that there is a new image a new individual look for each of the different lines. No longer is the Romance line  a pale pink version of the Modern covers and those Modern covers a blue version of the purple Historicals or the soft green Medicals.  Now each line has its own unique style, ranging from the dark blue of the Modern romances (still keeping that  traditional colour but in a new and sophisticated way) to the stark black and white  with just a flash of red on the Blaze covers.

The Historicals have a lush period look, with a  rich colour and the cover image in a half-circle and now the Medicals have a fresh red and white colouring to match the ‘red cross’ image of emergency services.

There are changes in emphasis too, with many of the line s – particularly the Modern Romances (the ones that will later be released as Presents)  displaying the author’s name with much more prominence. At last it is being acknowledged that, within the  range of Mills and Boon/Harlequin romances, while the readers come to the shelves because they know the quality of the books the publisher provides, it is the individual author’s work they choose to buy.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes will be the way that, starting now, and later  – at the end of this year – the Romance line will be changing and blending in with some of the books originally sold as Modern Heat. The traditional Romance type of stories are  now appearing in the re-named Cherish line (still with the traditional pale pick shading on the cover) . Then in the New Yera, some romance authors and some of the Modern Heat authors will be launched in a new renamed line – Riva.  The covers here will be very different too, and the editorial focus will be changing and developing slightly so watch out  for that.

Finally, much to the delight of the Modern/Presents authors particularly, the titles are going to be changing too. Gone are the over-used buzzwords that have become something of a joke as different combinations for Billionaire, Virgin, Mistress. Revenge etc are tried, ending up with a long string of titles that are almost indistinguishable from each other.  New style titles are slowly coming in and will be more common in the future – titles like my own The Good Greek Wife? which  has been released in the UK and will be out in Presents EXTRA soon. Other new-style titles coming up are: The Undoing of De Luca, The Bride Thief, The Man  Behind the Mask,  Giselle’s Choice, Reckless in Paradise.  I’m hoping that these new titles will be much more intriguing and will hint more at the stories – and the range of  contesnt – that is in the romance I love to write and you love to read.

So what do you think? I’m excited by this new phase   in the history of the company that has been publishing romances for over 100 years and reinventing itself every now and then to keep fresh, interesting and exciting. Do you like the new covers? The idea of the new titles?  I know I’m looking forward to seeing the first of my books with the new design cover and the new-style title. This will be in March 2011 when my book The Proud Wife comes out then.   At the moment it seems that the American  editions will still keep their tried and tested look, but  some of these changes may make their way over the ocean and into the bookshops in USA too.

I’d love to know what you think!

Meanwhile, my next book with a  traditionally styled Presents cover but with a slightly different style title – The Good Greek Wife? will be published in Presents EXTRA in  The Greek Tycoons mini-series in October.    You can find out all my latest news on my web site or my blog and that’s where you’ll get the first glimpse of  any new covers or titles I have coming up.

PS If you’re planning on entering the great new Mills & Boon New Voices contest and because of this  you’re looking for a copy of my 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance – and I know lots of you are as you’ve all be asking about it. This book is currently being reprinted but there are still a few  – jut a few copies left!  I checked with the publisher and there are just  20 copies in the UK and about 25 in America still available. So if you want to know more or find a link to where to buy, check out the Writers page on my web site for full details, specially for the USA edition.

And Good Luck to all who are entering.

Taken Beyond Temptation
Cara Summers

"Hot, secretive, mind-blowing…"
Mandi L.

Rating:

Taken Beyond Temptation, Cara Summer’s second book in her Hawthorn House trilogy, personifies sexy to the extreme! Hot, secretive, mind-blowing sex coupled with a hint of danger and a wonderful hero and heroine mix and this book gives you chills of the good kind!

Jillian Brightman’s forbidden fantasy is to be taken by a mysterious stranger so when Ian MacFarland shows up at her hotel and scales her balcony to get to her, what else could she do but enjoy the ride? But when the truth comes out about why Ian’s there—and the fact that he’s Dane’s brother!—it’s a lot for Jillian to handle. Is it too much? Or will their chemistry and emotional connection be enough to see them through?

Ms. Summers does another spectacular job…read more or Buy Taken Beyond Temptation now!

Led into Temptation
Cara Summers

"Enticing, seductive and very intriguing…"
Mandi L.

Rating:

Enticing, seductive and very intriguing, Led into Temptation, the first book in Cara Summer’s Hawthorn House trilogy, sets the stage high for the books to follow!

Ms. Summers’ seductive words will lure you in and have you falling in love with Dane MacFarland as he poses as a priest in order to find the man who not only shot him, but is known to use women for what he needs (not seductively either!) and then dispose of them…sometimes even by murdering them!

But it’s Naomi Brightman and Hawthorne House’s resident ghost that will keep you reading. Naomi for how she will handle the being in the spotlight after being jilted and losing her job, and Hattie (resident ghost) to see how she’ll take the transition of the Brightman sisters making her home into a hotel. Turns out, by the end, Hattie shows her support in a lot of ways. But you’ll have to read the story to find out what that is…

The entire story is based on a number of subplots—villian who duped Naomi and is out to get her, Dane’s reason for being at the hotel, and the hotel itself, and Dane’s search for his siblings—but through it all, you never lose sight of why you read a Blaze…read more or Buy Led into Temptation now!

In a belated Spring cleaning effort, I was going through some old files on my computer and ran across a short story I wrote for Woman’s World magazine. My friend Terescia and I challenged each other to write a short story for the magazine some odd years ago, and while neither were accepted, we both thought they were cute and should be shared.

You can find Terescia’s Fantasy Man on her site. And I’m posting His Perfect Neighbor in WWR’s Online Reads section for viewers to enjoy. Happy reading!

Claimed!
Vicki Lewis Thompson

“…sets you on fire with all the sensual and emotional chemistry…” Lysa C.

Rating:

Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Claimed! sets you on fire with all the sensual and emotional chemistry emanated by Josie and Jack’s intense romance. In the beginning you’ll be lulled into believing this is another ‘bad boy out for a fling’ story. You would be wrong. This one goes deeper than that on so many levels. Jack Chance is definitely not your ordinary bad boy, nor is his emotions tied around Josie Keller anything as simple as lust. It might have started out that way, but it didn’t take long for them to change. It did, however, take hims some time to make Josie believe he wanted more from her than sex. Ms. Thompson does a spectacular job mixing…read more or buy Claimed! now.

by Carolynn Carey

I’ve discovered over the years that some “rules” in English are nearly impossible for me to remember. I suspect that’s because they don’t seem particularly logical. For example, I rarely recall details of the rule related to the words “compose” and “comprise.”

Do you ever read a sentence similar to the following: “The group was comprised of five women and six men”? If so, are you aware that “comprise” as used in that sentence is considered poor usage? According to The Chicago Manual of Style, “the phrase comprised of, though increasingly common, is poor usage. Instead, use composed of or consisting of.”

In Follett’s Modern American Usage, we find the following explanation:
“The whole comprises the parts;
The parts are comprised in the whole;
The whole is composed of its parts;
The parts compose the whole.”

Frankly, I prefer Robert Claiborne’s suggestion in Saying What You Mean. He thinks we should drop the word “comprise” entirely and instead use the word “consist” rather than “comprise,” thus avoiding the question of when “comprise” should be used.

While I will continue trying to remember that the phrase “comprised of” is not good usage and that substituting “consisted of” or “composed of” is preferable, I’ll probably have to look the rule up again in the future. Sigh!

While I normally don’t post truly personal things to this blog, I really wanted to share my beautiful purse Kate Walker and her wonderful husband Stephen Wade sent me for my birthday.  They are so thoughtful!  :-)

If you like it, you can do a search for the per una brand sold by Marks & Spencer.

Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but I met Heather at a conference a couple years ago (the Lori Foster and Dianne Castell gathering) and we just hit it off.  Not only are our first names the same, but we’re close in age and our lives are fairly similar.  So when she approached me about doing some work on her website I was ecstatic.  While I didn’t do all the graphic work, I did set the site up and make a few changes to suit Heather.  If you haven’t checked out her site, you should.  It’s pretty! :-)  Here’s a link to her site: http://www.heathergrothaus.com/

But it’s not her site I wanted to mention. I wondered if anyone else has read her latest book, Taming the Beast.  I was priviliged enough to get a review copy when it came out, but in case you missed it, here’s a snippet:

Heather Grothaus’ Taming the Beast is a magnificent, heart-wrenching beauty and the beast tale that will enrich your heart.

There are just two many things I loved about this book to name, so I thought I’d share a few things I didn’t. Like how I couldn’t put it down! I’ve had very few books I couldn’t truly put down and get a good nights sleep, but this one was definitely one of those. You were immediately enthralled by the characters to the point you couldn’t wait to read more.

Another thing I didn’t like was that it made me cry! It takes a very good writer and a super touching story to make emotion well up enough for me to cry over a story in a book. This one has it all. From the heroes plight to the heroine’s heartbreak you can just feel what they’re going through.

Michaela Fortune has a nickname…some call her Miss Fortune. They believe she’s clumsy and not worthy of their time. That is until she befriends the daughter Lord Tornfield and wins his favor in a singing contest. Little does she know that’s the beginning of a life filled with intrigue, misunderstandings, betrayals, and murder. Everything in her life will be turned upside down. And when she’s at her lowest, heartbroken and humiliated she finds herself responding to a summons from the land’s overlord Lord Cherbon. The son of the Cherbon Devil. Rumors say he’s scarred where he once was beautiful. They say he’s just as evil as his father. So what on earth was she doing offering to marry him?

Lord Roderick Cherbon had lived through hell and came out the other side.

Read more or buy your copy of Taming the Beast now!