I recently asked this question on Twitter: “As a romance reader, what makes a book a keeper for you?”  Out of the replies that came my way, the two most common responses were one, a compelling hero/heroine and two, a story that generates an emotional reaction in the reader, whether that means laughter, crying, et cetera. I think we all read romance novels to escape, at least temporarily, the conflicts of our normal lives.  Even the people with the happiest of marriages, the best of health, and the most wonderful of jobs have some kind of problems.  Everyone needs to play a little hooky once in a while, and romance novels are a great way to do that. When you read a romance, you get caught up in someone else’s problems.  And even if you’re biting your nails on page 300 wondering if these two will ever get together, you know in the back of your mind that everything is going to turn out happily ever after, which leaves you with a feeling of satisfaction and hope at the end of the book.  (But you still nibble on those nails.) A book that gets a reader so emotionally involved is…

Great books sometimes make me do incredibly dumb things. I suspect I’m not alone here, so I’ll share my Good Book Offenses with you if you’ll share yours with me. It’s all about validating fellow book worms today. What stupid things have you done for the books you love? Here’s my list. 1. Stay up too late My most frequent Good Book Offense. Usually when this happens, I’m already sleep deprived from reading the same book too late the night before. I settle into bed with it again, earnestly committed to turn off the lights at 10:00. At 10:02 I decide that 10:30 is still a very respectable bed time. But the chapter I’m in when 10:30 rolls around has my willpower in a stranglehold. The cycle repeats an embarrassing number of times. I roll into work the next morning, virtually comatose, after a wild night reading about fake people. 2. Lie to my children Click to read the rest of Rachel’s blog and to leave a comment. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

With the schools in my area having graduated this weekend it got me reminiscing about my own high school years. There’s not a lot I remember about them, but I do remember in Freshman English having to read The Red Pony by John Steinbeck. I don’t want to dish any author, but have to honestly say I hated it. I didn’t care if I ever read another book by Steinbeck as long as I lived! Flash forward to Junior English, and having to again read Steinbeck. This time we were given “a choice” of the book Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath. What was never stated but understood was that the better students were to do The Grapes of Wrath and the students who were struggling a bit could do Of Mice and Men. Even though I had that love of reading I so wanted to Of Mice and Men just because it was so much thinner than The Grapes of Wrath, but I knew which I must read, and so I did. I will admit to really liking The Grapes of Wrath and deciding that maybe Steinbeck wasn’t as boring as all that. Whether or not…

This has been an interesting week coming off a beautiful relaxing away-from-it-all vacation to business catch-up, a little family drama, death of a favorite author to a full-blown panic attack. I seldom have panic attacks in fact probably wouldn’t know what they were unless someone I trust told me about them. I just called them anxious moments. Anyway, this one went full blown crazy and was all based, believe it or not, on books. Or more specifically the chance of not being able to get new books. First it was just a weird dream sorta a nightmare but it kept echoing in my mind. I was wandering in a book store — the old Waldenbooks on Midway, now a beverage center (sigh) — where I had spent many memorable minutes and hours every week for about fifteen years. It was the first stand-alone chain bookstore I’d ever been in. Some of the staff members are still my friends. They made me feel at home in Texas, this new place I’d moved to from the East. They learned my name, my taste in books and even introduced me to new authors and books I’d never tried before. Judy and Jackie put…

TJ Bennett is the author of “Dark and Daring Romance” and a former Romance Writers of America Golden Heart nominee. TJ writes “outside the box” historical romance featuring richly detailed settings and unusual subjects. Her critically-acclaimed debut novel, THE LEGACY, was rated a “Buried Treasure 2008” and a “Desert Isle Keeper” by the influential reader site All About Romance. The Historical Novel Society deemed THE LEGACY “a solid historical romance from a promising debut author.” THE LEGACY, set in 16th century Reformation Germany during the Peasant Revolution, was also a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest, the Book Buyers Best Award, and the Holt Medallion. TJ’s newest release, THE PROMISE, follows a mercenary during Charles V’s Italian campaigns. THE PROMISE was awarded TOP PICK status by Night Owl Romance and given four stars by Romantic Times BOOKReviews, which called TJ an “author to watch.” Eye on Romance’s Historical Romance Writers’ reviewer says TJ is a “master at writing historical fiction.” FF: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, TJ. Tell us a little more about your work. TJ: I’d like to thank Fresh Fiction for having me here today to talk about my latest release, THE PROMISE. This is a…

Twenty things you don’t know about me. Less if I run out of stuff to say. 1) My name is Karen Kelley. Okay, if you’re reading this blog you probably already knew that. 2) I write romance. And you might have known that, too. But did you know I write steamy romantic comedies? 3) I have two books out right now. How To Seduce A Texan. This is a new book from Kensington Brava. I was raised on a small farm so I had a lot of fun taking a big city reporter and putting her undercover in the country on a dude ranch. Except the hero in hiding discovers her deceit and plans to make her earn every word. 4) I’m usually laughing when I’m writing. I just can’t help myself. It’s like telling myself a joke I’ve never heard before. 5) The second book is one that went to mass market from trade. It’s the first book in my Planet Nerak series, Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind. It’s another steamy romantic comedy. Warning: do not drink liquids when reading this book. Especially in public places because you might spray on the person in front of you. You’re…

I just returned from New York City and my very first trip to the Book Expo of America (BEA). For the uninitiated, BEA is an enormous trade show of publishers exhibiting their authors, books and other forms of media. People from literally all over the world gathered at the Javits Center on the Hudson River for several days of sales, book signings, workshops, and general schmoozing. The BEA buzz is noisy, energizing and exhausting. My feet are still recovering. Authors from every genre—children’s books to nonfiction to romance-were in abundance. Posters and banners bearing names such as Debbie Macomber, Oliver North, R.L. Stine, and literally dozens of others lined the walls and hung from the ceilings. All were scheduled to sign free books for anyone willing to stand in some very long lines. On a personal note, I had a couple of special highlights. One was a fun and friendly audio interview done by “All About Romance” to be aired online at their website at a future date. For someone with an Oklahoma twang, I’m a little nervous about hearing my voice online. Probably my favorite thing was signing my latest release from Steeple Hill, THE BABY BOND, in the…

Long-time and beloved romance author Edith Layton passed away this morning following a long bout with ovarian cancer. She leaves behind three grown children, her grandchildren, and tens of thousands of readers who enjoyed her historical romances. WordWenches.com which Edith was active on until a few weeks ago, is doing a commemorative post for Edith tomorrow, June 3, 2009. Please invite anyone who knew Edith and/or her books to come by and leave a comment. They are planning on putting everything they get on CDs for the family. Click here for ommemorative post Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Everybody fantasizes about going to Las Vegas and winning big. And certainly, we’ve all seen the “Whatever Happens …” TV commercials and secretly wished we were experiencing the spontaneity and frenzy of Sin City shown in these ads. Excitement and luck run rampant there. Everywhere you turn, someone or something is beckoning to you to try your LUCK! Mike Corwin, the second Corwin cousin heads to the gambling capital for just such an experience, but will the infamous Corwin Curse that has plagued the males in his family for generations follow him? Or will he end up on a lucky streak that lasts a lifetime? This is the premise of my newest novel and the second book in my “Lucky” series, LUCKY STREAK. And sometimes, thankfully, luck pays off for me! I definitely don’t like to presume good things will happen, I like to hope. I’m afraid of jinxing something. Can you really do that? I rarely tempt fate. But it’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? Luck? LUCK is fickle. And yet many of us believe. When I ask myself why, I realize it’s because of HOPE. It’s the possibility that Lady Luck will step in and pick us up…

In the last hours before college graduation, I was saved from life as an accountant by a continuing education course titled “How to Write a Romance Novel.” Not that there’s anything wrong with being an accountant. It’s just that, for me, the infinite realm of numbers couldn’t possibly compare to the infinite realm of characters. Numbers can’t surprise you by making bad decisions. Numbers don’t have quirks that make you laugh. (Except for 43,770. For some reason, 43,770 cracks me up every time.) But “infinite” can feel overwhelming to a writer facing a blank page, and I’m always on the lookout for a new tool to get to know my characters better. I think I found one in Debbie Macomber’s wonderful book, Twenty Wishes. Anne Marie, a young widow, is stuck in a rut of grief and decides to make a list of twenty wishes, hoping this will give her something to look forward to and will restore her positive outlook on life. The bubble wrap popping scene is a hoot! I want to have a party like that. What would I learn, I wondered, if I did this exercise from the point of view of my characters? What new…