Who here likes the idea of a first date? A hot guy choosing you, the thrill of maybe a new outfit, flutters of anticipation… Okay, now who likes the reality of a first date? The stomach-clenching worry of boring him/him boring you, realizing you can’t afford a new outfit (especially if he turns out to be a dud), the angst of deciding if you can go ahead and order an appetizer and dessert, or if he’ll think you’re a gold-digger trying to test the buoyancy of his bank account…. Let’s face it, first dates can be scary. And more like filling out a job application than establishing a personal connection. You run down a list of questions: age, college, major, job, etc. These things are necessary. They’re also about as romantic as a bouquet of plungers. And when it comes to a book, and the main characters methodically covering those bullet points? Not exactly a page turner. In UP TO ME, the first book in my new Shore Secrets trilogy, the hero and heroine skip the first date. They share their first kiss on a hotel staircase the night they meet. And the next day, Gray discovers he can’t date…

Fresh Pick for Tuesday, June 24th, 2014 is THE GUNSLINGER by Lorraine Heath #WhatsNewTuesday Avon Impulse June 2014 On Sale: June 24, 2014 250 pages ISBN: 0062353071 EAN: 9780062353078 Kindle: B00I2PH69S Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound The Gunslinger by Lorraine Heath A version of this work originally appeared in the print anthology To Tame a Texan, under the title “Long Stretch of Lonesome.” A hired gun falls for the one woman who’s completely wrong for him in this Western romance from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorraine Heath. Chance Wilder never wanted to be a hero. A road-weary gunslinger with a ruthless reputation, he focuses only on his next target-and his next payday. That is, until a young boy offers Chance everything he owns-a piece of string, a harmonica, and a bent penny-if he’ll save his sister from a couple of thugs. Chance agrees, only to discover that the beautiful, fierce young woman in need of rescue is actually the very person he’s been hunting: his next mark. But after he saves her, Lillian Madison awakens in him long- buried dreams and possibilities. Facing…

You might think that writing books in a series is easier than writing a book that stands on its own, but each type of novel has its challenges.  Thirty-eight of my fifty-six novels are connected in some way, part of several different series, including Bitter Creek, Hawk’s Way, Captive Hearts, and Sisters of the Lone Star.  I also have a couple of “two-fers”—two connected books. I just finished writing three connected historical Mail-Order Brides books, TEXAS BRIDE, WYOMING BRIDE, and MONTANA BRIDE, which are part of my long-running Bitter Creek series, and I’m currently working on a brand-new contemporary Bitter Creek spin-off called “King’s Brats,” which includes SINFUL (in stores December 30), SHAMEFUL, and SURRENDER.  So you can see this is a format I love. With a continuing series I don’t have to come up with a brand-new set of characters for every book.  On the other hand, I have to figure out how to weave every book together with the others using  both an underlying theme for the series and an individual plot for each book.  I need to give you, the reader, conflict, climax, and resolution in each book, while leaving the lives of other characters in chaos…

Liz Adams has released an erotic ebook with a Wonder Woman type of heroine. Many call ARIEL’S DANGEROUS LIAISONS an erotic version of Wonder Woman. Today, the novella is free! The last day it’s free is June 28, 2104. To get your copy, download it from Amazon. *** When I wrote my erotic version of Wonder Woman, ARIEL’S DANGEROUS LIAISONS: THE EROTIC  WONDERS OF A SUPER HEROIC WOMAN, I had to ask myself more questions than I normally do when creating a protagonist. Ultimately, I needed to figure out how to make a well-rounded superhero. Consider these ten factors for a well-rounded superhero. 1. The Super Factor – Whether paranormal or not, she has to have superhuman skills that can overpower most humans. Such super skills can be other-worldly, like flight, or they can be with the help of gadgets, like a utility belt. My Wonder Woman-type character, Ariel, has super strength. 2. The Backstory Factor – How did she get those skills? Creating a backstory for your superhero is the same as creating a backstory for any character. Fill that backstory with love, pain, loss, and tragedy, and your readers will care about your super hero. 3. The Evolution…