My January release, KISS AT YOUR OWN RISK, is my first paranormal romance release in three years, and it is a very special book to me. It’s my triumph, my golden award, the moment of raising that trophy over my head and feeling the true joy of accomplishment fill me. Why? Because KISS AT YOUR OWN RISK is the most beautiful, magical book I’ve ever written, a book that would never have been born had I not been forced by life to dig deep and find beauty within me that I’d never before access. This book is my phoenix, my rise from the ashes, and it is my salute to the power of each of us to triumph, to prevail, to become who we are meant to be. Sometimes life derails us. Sometimes life comes crashing down on us so mercilessly that we feel like we’ll never get out from under it. Sometimes, all we can do is get down on her knees and cry, shouting to the world that it’s TOO DAMN HARD. I’ve been there. Two and a half years ago, my world was rocked. Every foundation of my life was ripped out from under me in one…

January 2011 On Sale: January 1, 2011 Featuring: Nicole Whitcomb; Michael Tyler 288 pages ISBN: 1593156286 EAN: 9781593156282 Hardcover $19.95 Add to Wish List Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com Nocturne by Syrie James A Haunting Story of Forbidden Love When Nicole Whitcomb’s car runs off a Colorado mountain road during a blinding snowstorm, she is saved from death by a handsome, fascinating, and enigmatic stranger. Snowbound with him for days in his beautiful home high in the Rockies, she finds herself powerfully attracted to him. But there are things about him that mystify her, filling her with apprehension. Who is Michael Tyler? Why does he live in such a secluded spot and guard his private life so carefully? What secret— or secrets—is he hiding? Nicole has secrets of her own and a past she is running from—but Michael understands her better than anyone she has ever known. Soon, she is falling as deeply in love with him as he is with her— a profoundly meaningful experience that is destined to change their lives forever. As the sexual tension between them builds, however, the clues mount up. When Nicole learns her host’s terrifying secret, there is nowhere for her to run…

So we writers are generally a normal lot. No really! Yes, we talk to the voices in our heads. They’re characters, I swear! And yes, we spend hours staring into space and then claim we’re working. Imagination needs to be exercised! That takes time and chocolate. And last but not least, we envision in gruesome detail all sorts of murders, mayhem, and ugly things. But we also spend lots of time on the color and shape of fairy wings. And whether to spell that fairy or faery. (Or at least I do). That is the writer in her normal balanced state. But sad to say, there is an alternate state, one my friend Eileen Dryer coined as DEADLINE PSYCHOSIS! That is when a deadline approaches and we have half the book to write in a month. Or less. Like a weekend. Yes, I actually knew an author who had one weekend to write half her book. She got it in and it was great, though it took her another few days to come off her caffeine high. So what characterizes this dread disease? It begins with subtle symptoms. Any email that comes in is ignored or dealt with in the…

Kate Daniels #1 April 2007 On Sale: March 27, 2007 Featuring: Kate Daniels 272 pages ISBN: 0441014895 EAN: 9780441014897 Paperback $6.99 Add to Wish List Fantasy Urban Buy at Amazon.com It’s a new year, make a resolution to read a well established series from the beginning Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for magic… One moment magic dominates, and cars stall and guns fail. The next, technology takes over and the defensive spells no longer protect your house from monsters. Here skyscrapers topple under onslaught of magic; werebears and werehyenas prowl through the ruined streets; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds. In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, she must choose to do nothing and remain safe or to pursue his preternatural killer. Hiding is easy, but the right choice is rarely easy… Kick-ass…

I have a theory about historical romance. Think about my conclusions to see if you agree. When we were little girls, we loved pretending we were a princess. Disney animation instilled in us that we were princesses, and fairy tales kept us entertained for hours. We dreamed about our prince, and we dressed in long flowing gowns complete with crowns and magic wands. When we were able to read, we imagined ourselves as the princess in distress or even the princess who saved the day. So what does our girlhood pastimes have to do with historical romance? We grew into our teen years and attempted to put the princess syndrome to rest. Some of you succeeded. Others of us couldn’t put aside the fantasy world. The color pink and the cute guy with dreamy eyes held our attention. We devoured romance novels. After all, the heroine always fell in love with the perfect hero, and we knew their love would last forever. We grew older and married our prince, or I hope you did. Then we began to expand our reading horizons. And this is when historical romance moved into our reading pleasure. Stepping back into time lifts the reader…

Fever #5 January 2011 On Sale: January 18, 2011 Featuring: MacKayla Lane 608 pages ISBN: 0385341679 EAN: 9780385341677 Hardcover $26.00 Add to Wish List Paranormal – Supernatural, Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com Dark Haunting Fantasy ShadowFever by Karen Marie Moning “Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.” MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals that have lived concealed among us for thousands of years. What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief, while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh–a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King that contains the power to create and destroy worlds. In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar…

Writing about the darker aspects of human nature doesn’t come easily to me. Not because my life is fluffy bunnies and rainbow sprinkles, but when I head down that twisted path, my personality changes. While creatively rewarding to craft a hard-edged, take no prisoners character like Mercy Gunderson, it’s all too easy for me to fall into that worse case scenario mindset. Yet, in some respects, delving into dark, gritty scenes are my favorite part of the writing process because it challenges me to step out of my comfort zone. Although I strive to make each book different, I refuse to write anything for pure shock value. It’s tricky finding that balance between describing the act of violence and later explaining the reason for it, without lessening the emotional impact of it. The horror of death should be real in every circumstance, to every character. Detailing the cast of character’s reaction to the death, be it the heroine’s, or the victim’s family, or even the murderer’s, has always been far more gut-wrenching for me to write than another gory scene with blood spatters and empty shell casings. The finality of death is something no one wants to deal with, but…

NIGHT PROMISES is available now Kelly O’Keefe first met a vampire when she was twelve. Now the pair are best friends and have opened Night Pleasures, an underground club that caters to vampires and their needs. When Kelly’s sister is murdered, she finds herself working with Connor, a vampire she’s been in love with for months. Unable to trust men, let alone a vampire, can she let him help her solve her sister’s murder? Connor has been watching after Kelly for seven months with the help of his sire and best friend Micah. Connor has kept himself at a distance even though he knows they are life mates. He’s afraid of losing control and turning Kelly against her will. When he learns Kelly plans on investigating her sister’s death, he steps in and allows himself to get close to her. But how close is too close? About Tonya Residing in Morehead, Kentucky, Tonya Renee Callihan is currently a 24-year-old college student seeking a degree in Nursing. She loves helping others and putting a smile on your face. Tonya has been writing all of her life. At the age of 13, on Christmas break, she snuck one of her mom’s romances…

January’s YA novels will take you back in time, to far away lands, and across the universe. The debut month of the year brings Eilis O’Neal’s debut novel, THE FALSE PRINCESS (Edgemont, 25 January). I was lucky enough to get to read this one ahead of time, and I loved the storytelling voice, which was both effortless and engaging.  Sinda has been raised as the princess of Thorvaldor, but learns that she’s really a commoner switched an infant to protect the true royal from a prophecy of assassination. She’s whisked away from her palatial digs, but is soon drawn back to the capital city when she discovers a plot that threatens to the entire kingdom. I caught up with Eilis to ask her about writing THE FALSE PRINCESS. RCM: Though it’s an original story, there is a definite fairy tale feel to THE FALSE PRINCESS. What inspired you to write it? Eilis O’Neal: The idea for THE FALSE PRINCESS came in one of those lightning bolt moments. I was at work, and suddenly I was scribbling down the title and the idea that it was about a girl who has grown up thinking she was a princess, only to find…

Three Kisses Trilogy #2 January 2011 On Sale: January 4, 2011 Featuring: Stevie Baci; Jacques Parini 304 pages ISBN: 0425239179 EAN: 9780425239179 Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Then He Kissed Me by Christie Ridgway What could Tanti Baci’s tomboy have in common with a royal prince? Oh, that… The three Baci sisters are on a mission to save the family winery by transforming it into a wedding destination. When Stevie Baci playfully names her own side business Napa Princess Limousine, she never dreams she’ll be driving a real prince around Napa Valley. Jacques Parini, aka “Jack”, is looking to expand his family’s wine interests. But after kissing Stevie, he finds this California girl in a black chauffeur’s hat does more than drive him crazy. A fun addition to the romantic Three Kisses trilogy. Excerpt “So who’s the other guy?” Stevie’s friend Mari asked, as she slid into the passenger seat of the waiting limousine. “Uh . . . other guy?” “Tall, dark, and dashing?” her friend qualified. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.” She’d noticed. From the moment he’d stepped out of the resort. But tall, dark, and dashing didn’t make up for rich,…