The WWR Romance Bulletin

A WeWriteRomance.Com Newsletter
Keeping you connected with your favorite authors...
Volume II, Issue 16
November 15, 2005 -- Copyright (c) November 15, 2005 -- PLEASE FORWARD

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In this issue...

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Editorial

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you're new to the WWR community and the WWR Romance Bulletin newsletter...welcome! Our community is growing by leaps and bounds and we hope that everyone finds something they'll enjoy.

We would also like to welcome all of our recent new members, Shelley Munro, Erin Katz and Jenna Black. Be sure to watch the news and new releases section for more on them.

Also this month, we have a wonderful Author Focus and interview with best-selling author, Dianne Castell. And our WWR Authors have generously provided us with a few excerpts (Bound By Blackmail by Kate Walker and Scarlet Woman by Shelley Munro) of their upcoming November releases. Don't miss any of them!

Until next time, have a happy holiday!

Heather R.

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Member News: Always fun, always fresh!

This has been a banner month for our members and they have plenty of good news to share.

To start, Leslie Dicken is thrilled that she took first place in the Golden Gateway contest and had the highest score of all the historical manuscripts! The judging editor, Tova Sacks of Berkley, requested the full manuscript. Read more news from Leslie on her website (http://www.lesliedicken.com).

Kate Walker discovered that Bound by Blackmail, the third book in her bestselling The Alcolar Family trilogy, spent three weeks on the Waldenbooks Top Ten Romance Bestseller List. That makes it a threesome, as both The Twelve-Month Mistress and The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife were Waldenbooks bestsellers too! Her next release in America will be The Married Mistress. Vote for your favorite Kate Walker book on her website (http://www.kate-walker.com)— everyone who votes has a chance to win great prizes.

Scarlet Woman is Shelley Munro's latest release. The book is set in the New Zealand town of Middlemarch and there's a very interesting story behind the book! Shelley says, "About two years ago I came across a story in the New Zealand Herald. It was about black panther sightings in the Canterbury region of the South Island, New Zealand. I was so intrigued I saved the newspaper cutting. Another news story caught my attention. There’s a small town called Middlemarch in the South Island. It’s a small town, and they have a shortage of marriageable women. To combat this problem the townspeople organized a dance. It was so successful the dance is now an annual event. The two ideas danced around inside my head for ages. I started thinking what if…and Scarlet Woman was born. I intend to write more stories set in Middlemarch since my hero has four brothers." Four brothers? Wow, are we in for a ride! Read excerpts of Shelley's books on her website (http://www.shelleymunro.com).

Not to be overlooked, Erin Katz has her first release out this month, and you won't want to miss her debut. Hot Off the Press was released on November 7th by Liquid Silver Books, and Erin's already scheduled the release of her second book Hot With Handcuffs. With titles like those, how could we pass these books up? You'll want to check out her contest (visit her website at http://www.erinkatz.com)—the prize is an "Indulge in Sin" basket full of goodies, including a copy of the book!

We have a new member this month, Jenna Black, and her first book is due next year from Tor. There's vampires and sexiness to be found there. Read an excerpt of Watchers in the Night on Jenna's website (http://www.jennablack.com).

And that's it for member news in this issue of the newsletter. Check out this space each month for the most updated info about our member authors!

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Til There Was U
by Dianne Castell
The first book in the Four O’Fallons and a Baby series...
A Kensington Brava November 2005 Release
Rated Four Stars by Romantic Times Magazine

Effie and Ryan have the perfect jobs in the perfect place but they don’t have each other...till they realize hot nights on the shores of the Mississippi are perfect for shutting out the world and succumbing to sexual fantasies, deep desires and true love.

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Win, Win, Win...Enter these contests today!

Don't miss your chance to win the Bag O'Books 2005 Contest, enter today!

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Books, Books & More Books

Check out these current and upcoming releases!

November 2005

December 2005

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Author Focus: Dianne Castell

Dianne Castell is the author of multiple Harlequin American Romance novels and she's also recently begun writing for Kensington's Brava imprint. Her May 2005 debut as a Brava author was in the anthology Star Quality.

If you like her Harlequin American romances, then you'll surely love her Brava books. About all of her books, Dianne says, "The stories are always fun and exciting and a touch of mystery. The Brava books are longer and I get to develop the secondary characters more and they sometimes do things the hero and heroine would never do. A bit more wicked!"

Her Four O'Fallons and a Baby series guarantees her readers a dose of her trademark fun and sass. You'll meet Ryan, Keefe, and Quaid, three brothers who are coming home to O'Fallon's Landing to help their father, Rory, find an abandoned baby's mother...and you'll get to watch them fall in love.

The Four O'Fallons and a Baby series starts with Til There was U in November 2005, followed by The Way U Look Tonight and I'll Be Seeing U.

Dianne began writing after her daughter introduced her to romance novels--with a book that had been passed around her school as a supplement to sex-ed! "I started rewriting the stories I read," Dianne says. "I'd think 'What the heck! He wouldn't say that' or 'She wouldn't do that.' I hated the wimpy heroines and always rewrote them to kick butt and set the hero straight."

Four O'Fallons and a Baby isn't the only series Dianne has on the shelves right now. Her Harlequin American series Forty & Fabulous comes to an end next month with A Fabulous Wedding. You can still get your hands on A Fabulous Wife and A Fabulous Husband if you'd like--so don't let yourself miss these great reads!

Of Dianne's December 2004 Harlequin American Romance novel A Cowboy and a Kiss, our own reviewer said, "...there are love scenes so steamy they'll make you want a cowboy for yourself!"

Read More

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Interested in advertising here? Check out our ad prices or email for information.

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In her own words: Dianne Castell's interview with WWR

WWR: Hi Dianne! We're thrilled to have the opportunity to talk with you. Our interview is meant to be fun and entertaining, so if you get bored with the questions, make up your own. :-) Seriously. Feel free to have some fun with your answers, too. We'll love you for it.

Dianne, Til There Was U, part of your Four O'Fallons and a Baby trilogy from Brava, will be released this month (November 2005). The book received a four star review from Romantic Times Magazine. Would you tell us what you find most exciting about the book and its characters?

Dianne: The best things about the O'Fallon series are the heroes, Ryan, Keefe and Quaid. No hot sexy romance is worth a darn without great guys. 'Course they're not looking to fall in love when they come home to O'Fallon's Landing on the Mississippi but steamy nights, sultry blues and three sassy gals get in the way.

WWR: Til There Was U has been called "captivating," "mysterious," and "entertaining" by reviewers. The buzz on this book has been great. Tell us about the story, and what it is that you think gives Til There Was U that something special.

Dianne: It's a fun read! No angst. I hate angst. I need to laugh and fret over the characters and see them do crazy things just like I do. Ryan and Effie come to the backwaters of the Mississippi from San Diego leaving their sophistication behind. They deal with Ryan's new baby sister, baby-nappers, a neighbor marring for money, an old family mansion, a naive housekeeper who's crazy over the Beach Boys and General Ulysses S. Grant prowling around and getting in everyone's business.

WWR: You write for Harlequin American Romance and Kensington Brava. Is it fun to switch between writing books of varying sensuality levels?

Dianne: Writing for Brava gives me a chance to write an edgier book. The hero and heroine are more in each other's face, the language sharper, the sex steamier.

WWR: Can you tell us what might bring your Harlequin American Romance readers to your Brava books and vice versa? What elements do your stories have in common (the Harlequin books and the Brava books)? What makes them different?

Dianne: The stories are always fun and exciting and a touch of mystery. The Brava books are longer and I get to develop the secondary characters more and they sometimes do things the hero and heroine would never do. A bit more wicked!

WWR: Is romance your one true love, or do you plan to write books in other genres someday?

Dianne: I can't imagine writing a book without a love story going on and a commitment at the end where the hero and heroine do the happily-ever-after thing. After all they go through and not wind up together that would be so dismal.

WWR: You've said before (on your website) that your daughter introduced you to romance novels. What was it that first led you to want to write your own stories?

Dianne: I started rewriting the stories I read. I'd think 'What the heck! He wouldn't say that' or 'She wouldn't do that.' I hated the wimpy heroines and always rewrote them to kick butt and set the hero straight.

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Visit the eHarlequin.com Bargain Outlet to save 35% off selected books!

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Sneak Peek of Bound By Blackmail by Kate Walker

Jake Taverner knows there is a feud between his family and the aristocratic Spanish Alcolars. But when he meets Mercedes, the only Alcolar daughter, she makes him want to forget all about the hostility that divides their families:

It wasn't easy but he managed to keep his hands off her through most of the meal. But the problem was that Mercedes Alcolar was temptation personified. Her smile, her laugh, the sensual movements of her body, the waft of her perfume on the air, all whispered enticement to his hungry senses. The way she ate, her enjoyment of the food his housekeeper had provided was pure seduction in itself. He had found himself leaning forward more and more, taking every opportunity to refill her glass, offer her a taste of something particularly good, once even wiping a speck of rich creamy sauce from the spot where it lay along the soft, luscious curve of her lip.

And Mercedes moved closer and closer. Always on some pretext or other — so that he could reach her glass better - to move away from the spot where some water had spilled . . . But she had ended up sitting next to him - very very close instead of opposite him.

And then he was unable to hold back any longer. Giving in to the primitive urgings that had been pulsing in his blood ever since she had opened the door to him, he leaned forward and pressed a long, lingering kiss on the tempting red mouth that still glistened with the shine left by the coating of sauce.

She'd blinked, just once, closing her chocolate coloured eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking straight into his.

'What was that for?' she asked, her low musical voice suddenly unexpectedly husky and uneven. . . .

'Did it have to be for anything?' Jake answered her. 'I wanted to do it. Why? Didn't you like it?'

She actually pretended to consider for a moment, still holding his gaze locked with hers, and she knew that he saw the light that gleamed in the darkness of her eyes — a gleam that spoke of sexual provocation, of deliberate teasing,

Slowly, sensuously, she slid out the pink tip of her tongue and slicked it over her moist lips, absorbing the taste of his kiss, and enjoying it all over again.

'Oh yes, I liked it,' she murmured. 'It was — nice. But somehow I was hoping for something rather more than nice.'

Kate's Site

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Sneak Peek of Scarlet Woman by Shelley Munro

Blurb:

Emily Scarlet’s husband left her for his secretary and died in a car accident—all on the same day. Now, six months later, Emily has emerged from her chrysalis of painful memories. And to prove she has what it takes to attract a man, she’s determined to experience one perfect night of passion.

An ad in the newspaper catches her eye. The Middlemarch ball presents the ideal opportunity to find a man. Emily catches the Love Train to Middlemarch and heads for one night of uncomplicated sex to wipe away her husband’s vicious taunts.

Feline shape shifter, Saber Mitchell has a problem with his four boisterous younger brothers. They’re out of control. It’s too late for him, but he hopes to get his brothers mated and settled, and the ball is the place to introduce them to marriageable women.

Unbridled sex is the last thing he plans on, but one glimpse of Emily Scarlet changes his mind. Sex with her is a necessity. They dance. They make love. One thing is clear—a single night isn’t enough. Saber must have her for his mate, but Emily isn’t so easy to convince...or trust.

Excerpt:

He heard a door open and shut down at the other end of the house. At least some of his brothers were home. The click of claws on the wooden floor sent alarm skidding down his spine. He tensed. The truth might come out sooner than he liked.

Emily sighed against his chest. “I should ring Maggie. She’s probably frantic.” The thought of speaking with Maggie rubbed away some of the gloss. They would argue—she sensed it. Maggie would probably sulk and ignore her for weeks. Yeah, she should ring right now and get it over with. But she didn’t want to move. Saber warmed her through. A generous lover, he tempted her to commit the ultimate folly. A bit silly of her, considering her experience with Michael. A sliver of fear worked through her at the thought.

To trust again. To lay her heart down and become vulnerable.

“She’ll know you’re with me.”

And she was probably having a cow because Emily wasn’t acting the grieving widow. Not for the first time, Emily wondered if she’d made a mistake in trying to protect the family from Michael’s shortcomings. They had given him saint status, and already Maggie was questioning her right to date again or go out for a night of fun after only six months of being a widow. Emily grimaced. “She’s probably guessed since we both disappeared.”

The seductive idea of staying formed in her mind. A week or two in the fresh country air. No, she thought. Treasure this one perfect night. Nothing stays the same. Save the heartache. Go home and start over.

The bedroom door creaked. When Emily turned her head, a huge black cat pushed the door open and prowled into the bedroom. Emily froze, her mouth dropping open in shock. The cat halted just inside the door.

“Out,” Saber snapped.

The cat mewed, sat on its haunches and fixed them with a haughty stare. The door flew open again and another cat stalked into the bedroom to sit beside the first.

Saber reached out and snagged the sheet off the floor. He covered her naked limbs before turning his attention to the cats. “Out.”

“Um, big kitties,” Emily said in understatement. Her voice trembled more than she liked. There really were panthers?

Hurried footsteps sounded outside the bedroom and one of Saber’s brothers burst into the bedroom.

“Anyone else waiting out there to come in?” Saber demanded with a note of impatience.

“The local cop car is heading up the driveway,” Joe said.

At his words, the two black cats raced from the room. Strange. It was almost as if they had understood. In the distance, she heard the peal of the doorbell.

A hand seized Joe by the scruff of the neck and hauled him out of the room. Felix stuck his head into the bedroom. Emily tugged the sheet up to her chin, very aware of her nakedness beneath the sheet and Saber’s erection pressing against her leg.

“I’ll deal with Allan.” A brief smirk tugged at Felix’s lips before he disappeared, pulling the door shut.

“Sorry about that,” Saber murmured. “They’re used to walking in whenever. I don’t usually…”

It made her feel good to know he didn’t have a procession of women in and out of his bedroom. Special. “Um, about the cats—”

“I’m not leaving until I see with my own eyes,” a furious voice shouted.

“Oh, damn.” Emily frantically sought a place to hide. Wardrobe. No time. Damn. Under the bed. Emily half-slipped out of the bed before she realized that drawers filled the gap between the mattress and the floor. Footsteps thumped closer. Just as the door opened, she tugged the sheet Saber had retrieved from the floor over her head and shut her eyes. Maybe Maggie would go away?

“What have you done with my friend? Where is she?” Maggie demanded.

“I haven’t done anything with her.” Saber’s voice held a hint of amused arrogance.

That wasn’t true, Emily thought, chewing on her bottom lip. Each time she moved, she felt the pull of well-used muscles. And his erection pressing against her had woken her libido so much that she wanted him again. Her pulse hummed in sexual awareness. But he’d done more than make love to her. He’d changed the way she thought about herself. The words Michael had screamed at her weren’t true. She was capable of attracting a man. And keeping his attention.

“She’s in that bed with you, isn’t she?” Maggie snapped. “I’m not stupid. I can see there are two bodies in that bed.”

“I love an intelligent woman,” one of Saber’s brothers said.

“Me too,” another agreed. “A brain is a sexy thing. I think I might be falling in love,” he added in a dramatic tone.

“Oh, shut up!” Maggie snarled in a very Michael-like growl. Emily trembled, knowing in her gut that her friend was going to hate her when she found out. Maybe she’d just go away? Please let her go away.

The sheet was yanked off the bed, leaving them both visible. Emily gasped in shock and tried to make herself small. Saber calmly replaced the sheet and tucked it around them.

Sly walked up to Maggie, trying to divert her. “Why don’t we discuss this over coffee? Let Saber and Jo get dressed.”

“I’ll be out in the kitchen,” the policeman said. “Doesn’t look like a crime scene to me.”

Color surged to Emily’s cheeks and seeped down to her chest. One perfect night of passion. That’s all she’d wanted. But even that had gone awry, turning into a fiasco of gigantic and embarrassing proportions. It took two hands to count the number of people who had seen her naked this morning.

Shelley's Site

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Chat with Donna!

Award-winning author, Donna Wright is scheduled to chat with WWR visitors December 1, 2005 (9pm EST) about writing a Christmas themed story and her December Avalon Books release, Diagnosis: Love.

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Click here for Harlequin's writing guidelines.

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Other WWR Features...

Interviews — WWR has a variety of interviews from both authors and industry professionals.

In the Limelight — The WWR In the Limelight feature gives you an inside look at the many of the romance publishers and their lines or imprints.

Guidelines — WeWriteRomance.com has gathered some of the top romance industry publisher's guidelines for your easy access.

WWR Chat Rooms — WeWriteRomance.com's chat rooms are open 24/7, so feel free to drop in and chat amongst yourselves!

WWR Forums — At WeWriteRomance.com's forum, you never know who you'll be chatting with! Many of our author members frequent the boards, so come join the fun.

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