Check out our feature on Kirkus Reviews: Merry Christmas everyone! I’m confused: Why do people insist on putting the Twelve Days BEFORE Christmas instead of starting on the 25th of December? The twelve days start with the manger and end with presents from the wise men. I want to ask, don’t they read historical romances? Surely, we’d all know the right days if more people read historical romances. Now to be honest, I had to look up Twelfth Night the first or second time I saw it in a novel, and yes, dear reader, that was before Wikipedia, so I used this thing called a dictionary. I know, I know, I age myself all the time, but I love my dictionary. It’s filled with all these interesting facts and a mini history of how words evolved and how they were used over time. But back to the subject: The Twelve Days of Christmas. In Europe and the countries to our south, Christmas Eve just kicks it all off. There should be celebrations and parties and good food, and they should start with Christmas. Not end on the 26th with after-Christmas sales. Really, there should be massive celebrations happening now through…

You know when spring arrives thanks to two things: We lose an hour of sleep, which I’ll always hate, and South By Southwest occurs. But what does “South By” (or SXSW) have in common with books, or even more pertinent, with romance readers? Well, I’m here to provide my thoughts. Romance readers are a curious bunch: We’re different from mainstream readers since we’re predominately women, and we’re also very inquisitive. Romance represents the cutting edge of fiction with stories and tales that push the boundaries of what’s real. Yes, our fiction is considered by academics and others as escapist. But who cares? I love when I’m buried in a great romance. I don’t care if the book’s universe is off-planet or inhabited by shapeshifters or even filled with historical situations and characters that would never have existed according to some know-it-all. I’ve got my real-life feet planted firmly on the ground, but I LOVE my times when I lose myself in a book. Read the rest

How have our romances changed in the last ten years? Because tastes rarely stay exactly the same in our reading, television, music and art, and romance fiction is really no different. The basics are still there but what changes? I wrote about the war affecting our characters in this week’s Kirkus Reviews. Check it out! I love to talk about it. I had an interesting and very thought-provoking book club this week–after the tragic sniper shooting in Texas of best-selling writer Chris Kyle, the conversation turned to the heroines in our books. The realization as a nation that we’ve spent over 10 years at war is unsettling. Most of us know at least one family who has been directly affected by one of the wars, and it became apparent that even our reading has changed. Perhaps subtly, but if you look back 10 years you can see patterns. First, our heroines’ occupations are no longer the secretary or assistant, but they are the doctor, the pilot, the police officer or in the case of most urban fantasy or paranormal romances, the woman is the primary protagonist and kicks ass. Our heroes aren’t just covert organization mystery men, but Special Forces…