April 2010 On Sale: April 6, 2010 Featuring: Angelina Moyano; Micah Hudson 368 pages ISBN: 0425232581 EAN: 9780425232583 Trade Size $15.00 Add to Wish List Erotica, Romance Erotica Sensual Buy at Amazon.com A 2010 Fresh Fiction Favorite Read. “Powerful, emotional and steamy hot.” Sweet Temptation by Maya Banks She has a hard act to follow… He was a by-the-book cop who broke the rules in the bedroom… Micah Hudson has painful secrets he’s run hard from. He has new friends, a new life, but he’s about to be confronted with the one person who reminds him of all he’s tried to forget–Angelina, the sister of his oldest friend David. She knows everything about his past, including how he and David fell in love with the same woman, and how they decided the best way to prevent her from tearing them apart was to share her between them. But then a terrible accident left Micah alone… She was willing to do anything to make him see the woman she’d become… Micah lost the two people who meant the most in the world to him. Angelina lost her only family. And she kept her deepest secret close to her heart. Her love…

As the year ends, I’m going to do what my heroine Milagro calls a “state-of-the-chica analysis.” I’ve had two books published, NANCY’S THEORY OF STYLE (under the pen-name Grace Coopersmith) and HAUNTED HONEYMOON (Casa Dracula Book 4). I’ve sold a young adult gothic, THE SHADOW GIRL OF BIRCH GROVE, to Tor, and contributed a story to THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF SCOTTISH ROMANCE, to be released January 4, 2011. I’ve been mentioned in the New Yorker’s book blog, spoken at book festivals, and learned that when editors say “winter 2012” they mean January 2012, not December 2012. I should be happy with all I’ve accomplished, but I see what’s desperately missing from my list: time spent reading books. All writers start out the same way: we love to read. We want to spend much of our days in imaginary worlds. We want to be surprised, engrossed, thrilled, and moved by the characters and stories we discover in books.  We love stories that transport us to other places and times, from ancient Rome to a far off future in another galaxy. We can usually learn something from characters, whether they’re diligent forensic scientists or inquisitive homemakers. It is a marvelous feeling to…

I’ve been an avid reader since I was 12, when my mom set me loose in the newly minted young adult section of our favorite Waldenbooks store. Armed with $20 and bored to death waiting for her to finish picking out this week’s batch of “hidden baby” romance novels, I discovered my soon-to-be favorite author L.J. Smith stacked amongst the shelves with R.L. Stine and Judy Bloom. I crouched on a round step stool, opened that first page of DARK ANGEL and dove head-first into a world where ghosts, vampires, shape shifters, and humans mingled and fell in love. To say I was hooked was an understatement. From that day, I spent every single one of our traditional Saturday afternoon book store visits huddled under the bookshelf ladder with my back pressed against some of my closest friends. As the years went by the young adult section grew from one shelf, to an entire case, to half of the children’s section. I returned week after week, always discovering something new or revisiting old favorites. I read so much then and often I look back at the Gwen of 15 years ago with longing. I wish I could go back to…

Mercy Thompson #5 April 2010 On Sale: March 30, 2010 Featuring: Samuel; Mercy Thompson 352 pages ISBN: 044101819X EAN: 9780441018192 Hardcover $24.95 Add to Wish List Fantasy Urban Buy at Amazon.com A 2010 Fresh Fiction Favorite Read! Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs All-new action in the #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series Being a mechanic is hard work. Mercy Thompson, for instance, just spent the last couple of months trying to evade the murderous queen of the local vampire seethe, and now the leader of the werewolf pack – who’s maybe-more-than-just-a-friend – has asked for her help. A book of fae secrets has come to light and they’re all about to find out how implacable – and dangerous – the fae can be. OK, so maybe her troubles have nothing to do with the job. But she sure could use a holiday … Excerpt Chapter One The starter complained as it turned over the old Buick’s heavy engine. I felt a lot of sympathy for it since fighting outside my weight class was something I was intimately familiar with. I’m a coyote shapeshifter playing in a world of werewolves and vampires — outmatched is an understatement. “One more…

The Holiday Buffet at Neiman’s Zodiac RoomThe Holiday Buffet starts with a Neiman Marcus tradition, their hot chicken consommé, fresh popovers and strawberry butter. Festive Salads Vegetable Pot Stickers with thai soy ginger sauce Bocconcini & Grape Tomatoes: frisée, pesto vinaigrette Bistro Spinach & Field Greens Salad: apples, grapes, spiced pecans, blue cheese, sun-dried fruit, apple cider vinaigrette Gotham Salad: diced chicken breast, ham, gruyére, tomatoes, beets, bacon, egg, iceberg lettuce, thousand island dressing Southwest Quinoa Salad: avocado, roasted corn, cilantro, lime-chipotle vinaigrette Asian Shrimp Salad: edamame, napa, carrots, bean sprouts, sweet chili Roasted Garlic Eggless Caesar: romaine, anchovies, parmigiano-reggiano, croutons Italian Tuna & Antipasti: arugula, radicchio, artichoke, red onion, roasted peppers, olive oil, lemon, tomato NM Classics Orange soufflé, chicken salad, seasonal fruit, berries & poppyseed dressing Kendlebrook farms smoked salmon, chopped liver, egg, cornichons, hummus, grilled pita, olives, horseradish pickles, artichoke & roasted garlic puree, capers, onions, lemon Main Entrees Roast Black Angus Prime Rib Roast, au jus, creamy horseradish sauce Holiday Roast Herb Turkey & Traditional Sides, pan gravy, thyme & parsley dressing, yukon gold mashed potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, spiced pecans & maple sweet potatoes Slow Roast Rosemary & Glazed Mustard Ham, pear & goat cheese…

Blood Singer #2 October 2010 On Sale: September 28, 2010 Featuring: Bruno DeLuca; Celia Graves 384 pages ISBN: 0765324954 EAN: 9780765324955 Paperback $14.99 Add to Wish List Fantasy Urban, Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com A Fresh Fiction 2010 Favorite Read. Siren Song by Cat Adams Nothing if not resilient, Celia Graves is slowly adjusting to being a half-human, half-vampire Abomination. But her troubles are far from over. Her best friend’s murder is still unsolved, the cops are convinced she should be in jail, and her old lover, the magician Bruno DeLuca, has resurfaced in her life, saying he has something important to tell her. The vampire attack that transformed Celia kicked her latent Siren abilities into high gear, and now she’s been summoned to the Sirens’ island to justify her existence—and possibly fight for her life—in front of the Siren Queen. Celia isn’t sure she’ll survive to make the trip. The demon she defeated in Blood Song hasn’t exactly gone quietly—he’s left Celia suffering from a powerful curse. Celia Graves on a second, exciting urban fantasy adventure Excerpt The limo was long and sleek, an extended number in gleaming white, polished to a shine that was almost blinding under the bright lights outside the…

There’s always a lot of discussion about heroes in romantic and erotic fiction. In many ways, it really is all about him, right? As readers, we need to find him likeable, redeemable (if he’s bad and I usually hope he is) and HOT. At the end of the day, we have to fall a little (or a lot!) in love with him. But what about the heroine? What about her? What kind of heroines do readers relate to because if a reader doesn’t relate to the heroine or her plight, the whole story falls apart. I think about this quite a bit and I spend a lot of time on developing what I call a “character map” for my heroines. I want my readers to really connect with them on some level, but I don’t aim to write perfect characters. That would be boring. I want them to be real and that means having quirks and faults and of course, room to grow. I feel as if the reader needs to get invested in their journey. It’s why I might throw in an embarrassing moment for my heroine, a mistake that you or I could make, a fear we might…

November 2010 On Sale: November 1, 2010 Featuring: Kevin Kowalski; Beth Hansen ISBN: 1426890729 EAN: 9781426890727 e-Book $4.99 Add to Wish List Romance Buy at Amazon.com A Fresh Fiction 2010 Favorite Read. “Sexy, sassy and immensely satisfying” Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey One-night stand + two percent condom failure rate = happily ever after? Bar owner Kevin Kowalski is used to women throwing their phone numbers at him, but lately he’s more interested in finding a woman to settle down with. A woman like Beth Hansen. If only their first meeting hadn’t gone so badly… Beth’s tending bar at a wedding when she comes face-to-face with a tuxedo-clad man she never thought she’d see again. She tries to keep her distance from Kevin but, by last call, she can’t say no to his too-blue eyes or the invitation back to his room. Then she slips out before breakfast without leaving a note and, despite their precautions, pregnant. Kevin quickly warms to the idea of being a dad and to seeing where things go with Beth. After all, he’s not the player she thinks he is. But she’s not ready for a relationship and, given his reputation, it’s going to take…

Winners may get all the glory in life, but I find the losers to be far more interesting.  They see the world differently—often because they’re flat on their back…in the store parking lot…after being trampled over on the way to the sale. But they’re looking at the stars. What I most enjoy is when the things the losers hate about themselves turn into powers. And look! One of my favorite examples of this is a Christmassy one: Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer. All the other reindeers laughed at him and excluded him because of his red nose, but when the snowstorm hit, suddenly his bright nose was awesome. I love the drama of that. And it’s something I really enjoyed playing with in my disillusionists trilogy. My characters have problems that run—and ruin—their lives. And I got to turn that upside down, into awesome superpowers. The whole idea started, oddly, from reading a depressing book. This book! OMG, it made me feel really awful, and I thought, if I had an enemy, I would give them this book as a gift, so that they could feel as disillusioned as I did. (In fact, I actually recommended it to somebody I was…

Bride Trilogy #3 May 2010 On Sale: April 28, 2010 Featuring: Violet Griffin; Rule Dewar 368 pages ISBN: 0778327744 EAN: 9780778327745 Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com A Fresh Fiction 2010 Favorite Read Rule’s Bride by Kat Martin Unrepentant rake Rule Dewar is living the good life when a most surprising event occurs— he falls in love with his wife. After their strategic “marriage of commerce” three years ago, Rule quite forgot about Violet Griffin, the teenage heiress to a Boston manufacturing fortune. He simply spoke his vows, took over her father’s business and returned to England to resume his usual pursuits: high-priced wine, high-stakes gambling and high-born women. Yet when Violet, now a sophisticated woman, unexpectedly appears at Rule’s London townhouse, husbandly duties no longer seem so odious—he can’t wait to take his stunning bride to their marriage bed. Violet, however, is not so easily led: she has her own ideas and is seeking an annulment to marry another. But as Rule attempts to win her over, someone else is determined to frame him for murder and keep him out of the way for good… Excerpt The hour was late when Rule arrived home…