This summer, a fiction writer/blogger declared that all writers must revise their books according to reader reviews. Now let me be the first to state that I love my readers. A lot. My readers have given me lots of ideas and motivation. For example, the readers were the first to ask me if Sancho Panza, who first appeared in UTTERLY CHARMING, would get his own story. Hmmm. Write about a guy who resembles Travelocity’s roaming gnome? As the hero? Really? Okay. I decided to give it a go, and that resulted in COMPLETELY SMITTEN. Readers have asked if I would write more about the Fates, and I did in the Fates Trilogy. (You can get all three books in one volume as an e-book.) Readers who’ve finished my latest, CHARMING BLUE, want Tank’s story, and believe me, I’m considering it. (But I’m also rather fond of Ramon and Gunther as well.) Yet I think rewriting to reader reviews is a bad idea. It would be a great idea if every reader said the same thing. But they don’t. For instance, after Sourcebooks offered WICKEDLY CHARMING for free as an e-book promotion last fall, I got two back-to-back reviews. The first…

Sometimes I want to stand up and announce, “Yes, I write romance books and I’m damned proud of it!” But I haven’t yet. I don’t shy away, either. I’ve had more people give me strange looks when I mention I write romance. I usually get hear responses like, “Oh, you write those kind of books.” Or one better: “I don’t read trashy books.” Well, someone is because romance accounts for over half of book sales each year. Which is a good comeback line in case you need one. But just for the record, I write erotic romance with a touch of quirky humor. I want to make the reader laugh, and I want to make them turn the ac down a bit. I want to entertain you, and hopefully, I will. I also write what I like to read. One of my favorite storylines has always been the ugly duckling who turns into a beautiful swan so in WHERE THERE’S A WILL I played around with that theme. Haley, the heroine, lives her day to day dreary life with no hope of change until she does a week’s worth of work for a coworker that she has a crush on….

What do you get when you force two sworn enemies in to a marriage of convenience? Opposites attract and attack! Andreas Ferrante had already chosen a suitable bride and was about to ask her to marry him when he got the news about the conditions on his late father’s will. He must marry Sienna Baker – the woman he has loathed since she was a troublemaking teenager – in order to claim his inheritance. Sienna is the last woman on earth he would ever choose to be his bride! Sienna has done everything she can to avoid coming into contact with the brooding Andreas over the last few years. She knows what she did to him all those years ago was wrong but she also knows it’s too late to undo the damage. But she needs money and it is rather a large fortune to be had! But marrying him? A massive fortune, two strong wills and a monumental attraction that has simmered for years is brought out into the open and it’s fireworks from day one. Andreas and Sienna start out as enemies but eventually find that hate is very definitely a two-sided coin! Do you think love and…

My “first novel” was called INVASION OF THE MUTANOIDS. Yeah, you read that right. I started scribbling it out in an unlined art book in the winter of 1988.  I had just turned nineteen.  I eventually “published” the book myself in the winter of 1998, after being turned down by every imprint I submitted the damn thing to.  In the ten year gap, in addition to being a writer, my job description included: dishwasher, prep cook, adult book store manager, cameraman for a religious talk show, film director, musician, producer of audiobooks . . . oh, and for an entire year, I paid the rent by selling my body to science.  (This was, incidentally, how Robert Rodriguez footed the bill for his first feature film El Mariachi—and when I say that, I mean that this was exactly the way he did it.  See, the medical research lab I volunteered at was the very same place Robert did his time in my hometown of Austin, Texas;  Inspiring, no?) During this ten years, I banged away on the novel, never quite sure if it was done, moving forward in fit and starts, like many young writers do when they are first getting…

Every reader has a keeper shelf tucked somewhere.  A place for those books too special to part with, many of which might be autographed and personalized. But now e-readers are changing the face of the book industry.  What will happen to the keeper shelf as there are fewer print books around?  Several New York publishers are already moving from releasing mass-market (paperback) print editions to purely e-books.   And it’s not just about having something tangible to hold in your hands. There’s a bigger issue. I’ve noticed a disturbing trend at signings these past couple years.  As e-readers grew in popularity, fans who were buying more e-books started bringing their actual electronic reading devices to be signed.  The problem with that is that at some point they would upgrade to a new e-reader and, after years of use, the signature would probably wear off. Fans wanted to meet us–the authors– and get their “books” signed, but they didn’t have a physical book to bring in.  Plus, many bookstores are now requiring readers to purchase a book at their store to attend a signing, and some are either preventing or limiting any backlist books readers would otherwise bring in.  Fans carry in…

Vampires. They’re a subject near and dear to my heart, whether they be sparkly, terrifying, seductive or I-vant-to-suck-your-blood… I don’t care what form they come in. When I decided to write KISS OF STEEL, which is set in a Victorian-era world ruled by the blue bloods of the Echelon, I knew I wanted to use the vampire myth somehow. My blue bloods are gentleman who deliberately infect themselves with the craving virus in order to become elite; making them stronger, faster, invulnerable to illness or injury… and with a thirst for blood. Women are denied the Blood Rites for fear their gentle natures won’t be able to control the strong hungers that develop, their purpose in life to become a blue blood’s thrall – or blood slave. The craving virus gifts its bearers with many advantages but there is also a cost. Over the years the virus eventually colonises the body, and the Fade begins. The first signs are albinism and the faint, decaying stench of rot. Eventually the victim evolves into something more. A creature with no reason, driven only by its hungers and its invincible strength. A vampire. History is full of supposed vampires and their legends. Whilst…

My first love had the name of Jeffy Terrence. It’s the name that came on his birth certificate.  I can remember the day I got him as clearly as I can remember yesterday.  He was sitting on the end cap at Sears in his muted yellow box. He had a bald head and a promise written on the box that he smelled like baby powder. And his bottom was signed by Xavier Roberts. He was wearing a blue and white one-piece sleeper. I wanted him more than I wanted my next breath. And I got him.  I took him home and we were inseparable.  If you haven’t figured it out by now, Jeffy is a Cabbage Patch Kid, and he was mine, all mine. He had his own carrier, and I would tie it to the limb of the tree outside and spend hours swinging him back and forth.  We took long walks together and I never went to sleep without him. I can remember with great clarity the day that I took Jeffy Terrence to school in my backpack. I knew he was not supposed to be there, but I wanted to show him off. I didn’t take him…

“Miriam, you write such unusual historical romances.  Medieval Russia, medieval Ireland, Vienna, Austria, pre-American Revolution, and even a Viking romance featuring twin sisters!  Where do you get your ideas?” I’m sure every romance author has been asked where she gets the ideas for her books, but the “unusual” aspect of that question surprised me.  I don’t recall that I set out to write unusual historical romances as a goal when I began my writing career.  I believe the inspiration for my stories came simply from life’s events, a romantic spirit, and probably too much imagination for my own good! My first historical romance TWIN PASSIONS was a tribute to my Norwegian grandmother and my fascination with Norway and its history.  Nana and I visited Norway for six weeks one summer when I was an impressionable teenager to reconnect with family, and I’ve considered that stunningly beautiful country as my second homeland ever since.  I even developed a major crush on a Norwegian sailor during that trip so I guess once a romantic, always a romantic. At every turn as we travelled across the country, I envisioned Viking dragon ships cutting across the water of those deep mysterious fjords.  On every…

Today’s guest is Shannon McKenna with an excerpt from her latest book: ONE WRONG MOVE. She’s also giving away a copy of one of her books: ONE WRONG MOVE, BLOOD AND FIRE, ULTIMATE WEAPON, and FADE TO MIDNIGHT. All you need to do is leave a comment. This excerpt is a bit hot “What?” he said, his voice testy. “What’s with the look?” She couldn’t think of a lie fast enough, so the truth fell right out. “I was trying to read your mind,” she said. He gave her a look from under hooded eyes, making her notice how long his eyelashes were. “What did you see?” “Nothing,” she said. “You don’t need to read my mind to know what I’m thinking. There are other indicators.” He paused. “Big ones,” he added. She stared fixedly as the apartment buildings, storefronts and schools crawled by. Bastard. Messing with her head. Heat and sweat, rising in her body. She must look like a tomato. And now they were mired in a snarl of rush hour traffic. No end in sight. “We’re going to be here for hours,” she muttered. “Get down.” He gripped her leg below the knee, pulling it so that…

I admit it. I have a ‘tude. More specifically, I have a stubborn streak that hates to be told no. The surest way to fire me up to do something is to tell me I can’t. I can’t have ice cream for breakfast? Pass the Ben and Jerry’s! I can’t fit my car in that parking place? Watch me! So when I started writing romances mumble mumble years ago and was told I can’t have a musician as a hero, I took offense. The prevailing theory was that readers didn’t like sports heroes (Ahem, Susan Elizabeth Phillips Chicago Stars anyone?)— nor artists, actors or musicians. Supposedly these careers had stigmas attached to them and weren’t considered hero-worthy. My inner rebel immediately shouted, “What? Musicians are sexy! Musicians are romantic! Musicians can be rough and tough guys who’ll protect the heroine from danger!” The gauntlet had been thrown down, and I set out to write a musician hero readers would swoon over. Based on reader mail I’ve received regarding CHASING A DREAM, I succeeded. In CHASING A DREAM, country musician Justin Boyd has a dream of making it big in Nashville. He’s got the winning combination of talent and tenacity. Nothing…