As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2018, our Meet the Author interviews help you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 9-11. Read on to get acquainted with Deborah LeBlanc, and purchase your ticket to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! Pitch us your newest book in one sentence. Nonie Broussard, a closet medium who works at her family’s funeral home (which she hates), joins a gaggle of misfit paranormal investigators and finds herself with ghosts who insist on following her home in TOE TO TOE. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, who would you choose and what would you do? The character I would choose would be Tawana Batiste from A HOUSE DIVIDED, and what I would do is tell her to buck up and get with the program! What gets your creative juices flowing when you’re brainstorming a new story? The most important thing that gets my creative juices flowing is a perfect book title and finding pictures of the main characters. Which part of Readers & ‘ritas are you most excited about?  I look forward to meeting all the readers who are coming…

Because I’m a romance writer, you can probably guess my answer to the question, “Do romance novels have value?” Of course I believe they do! I suppose if I were strictly mercenary I’d still say something to the effect of, “Well, duh. It’s a multibillion dollar business that outsells all other genres.” But my feelings go much deeper than that. You see, I get fan emails saying things like, “Your sense of humor got me through a difficult time.” Or, “I know I can count on your books for an uplifting ending. I need that right now.” Even my own story begins with a similar experience. I was raised by intellectuals. I had never read a romance novel, yet I was taught to think of them as “trash” and far beneath anyone with a brain. That’s the very definition of prejudice. I prejudged a whole industry without investigation. Then my life took a challenging turn. My parents became terminally ill at the same time. As an RN, I was able to take care of them so they could remain at home as long as possible. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever taken on. Fortunately, another nurse…

Aidan’s breath came out in a frosty mist as he continued making his way down. Seeing the deep never-ending chasm on either side of their ledge, he felt his blood turn to ice. He was afraid one misstep by either of them while they attempted to shift and dress could mean their demise. “If we have to, we can call for a helicopter rescue,” Ted said. “Not when any of us are wolves, we can’t.” Aidan looked down, another fifteen feet, or so, to go. He wasn’t even sure he could stand on the ledge with them, or if Holly or Nick would have the strength to climb up, even with the aid of the rope. Had she ever climbed an ice mountain before? Nick had the gear, so he probably knew how to climb, but could he? Aidan noticed the way he was holding his front paw, not resting it firmly on the ice, and that indicated he’d injured it. Aidan couldn’t see a break. Maybe a light sprain, or a bad one. He hoped he was wrong. He moved carefully down a few more feet, shaking loose more snow. He was sweating, despite the cold. When he finally…

If you’ve ever lived in an urban or suburban area, you’ve probably experienced a neighbor from hell. For me, living next to a man who likes to play Shaggy’s greatest hits at 3 am wasn’t exactly fun, but it did give me the inspiration to write a neighbors-to-lovers romance. In Make Me Fall, Nora and Eli are next-door neighbors who don’t exactly get along. His late nights and loud noises from his home reno projects have been driving Nora crazy, even if she appreciates how good he looks while operating his circular saw. For months, the only communication they’ve had is through antagonizing notes left in each other’s mailboxes—until Eli overhears some of Nora’s friends giving her a hard time about being too uptight to get a date. While there’s no love lost between the pair, Eli doesn’t like the way they are talking about Nora and finds himself volunteering to take her out. If neighbors-to-lovers is one of your favorite tropes, too, I’ve got five more to recommend: 1. The Bad Boy Next Door by Jody Holford: With this book, you get exactly what it says on the tin—a deliciously tropey and sweet romance about Shay who moves in…