I’m not sure what it is about bad boys that make them such great characters. In real life, the bad boys – at least to the extent they’re shown in fiction – wouldn’t make such wonderful boyfriends or husbands. But in the imaginary worlds of novels, they’re just what the reader (or writer) ordered! I remember reading on somebody’s blog a very important sentence that changed everything for me, and it was something along the lines of “books are fantasies.” I’m not sure why that clicked for me, or why I hadn’t made the complete connection before, but it made everything very clear. We might not want the hardened criminal with a heart of gold, the devastatingly handsome demon, or the world-weary master vampire in real life. But we might want him in our fantasies. He represents adventure, excitement, and intrigue – and let’s face it, most people don’t have much of that in real life. Nor, if we were suddenly given the chance, would we want it! But in the safety of our imaginations, a rip-roaring adventure with the baddest of bad boys, is exactly what works. In my Michelle Maddox release, COUNTDOWN, my characters are forced to play…

Or: Everything I needed to know, I learned from George Costanza I’ve always loved to read, so it was no surprise to anyone when I eventually decided to write a book of my own. When I did, I attacked it head on. I planned, I worked, I outlined more than any woman should. The end result? I wrote three mysteries that didn’t sell. I don’t know how many of you watch Seinfeld, but there is a time in George’s life where he decides what he’s been doing hasn’t been working, so he decides to do the opposite. That’s what I did with my books. I’d been writing serious mysteries, with lots of science and research involved. They’d generated some interest, enough to almost, almost sell. But nothing quite happened. To take my mind off the latest mystery making the rounds with agents, I decided to write something completely different, a funny paranormal romance where I could build my own world and make up my own rules. I fell in love with the idea of a preschool teacher who is forced to run off with a gang of geriatric biker witches and The Accidental Demon Slayer was born. Instead of a…

Let’s talk about Expletives. “God’s Hooks””’Ods toes”“Piss ‘n nettles”“Christ-all-bleeding-mighty!” Little curses and habitual ticks can bring a character to life. As an author writing in the Medieval time period, I chose the above expletives for my debut book, HER ONE DESIRE. Let’s start with the first one: GOD’S HOOKS: Derived from the hooks (or nails) used to fasten Christ to the cross. This particular expletive later evolved into “Gadzooks”. Many of these “God’s”expressions were reduced to ‘od’s or odds as in “‘ods toes”. Of course, part of the fun is making up expletives. I used ‘Piss ‘n nettles’ for one of the secondary characters in HER ONE DESIRE. I tossed words around for days trying to fit ‘John’ with the perfect expression. Not only does a character tend to use a favorite expression, but also favorite sayings, like: “Are ye wowf, man?” Simply from the way it’s written, the reader might be able to guess its meaning. ‘Wowf’ was Scottish slang used to describe someone who might be insane, crazy, mentally ill or deranged. Along with researching forms of speech, I often mull over a character’s nervous tick before I ever start a book. (Sometimes for days at a time)…

I want to start off by thanking everyone here at Fresh Fiction for inviting me as a guest blogger today! I’m really happy to be here. So, let me ask you this: What is it we find so sexy about those sexy cops and to die for knights?? Hmm, could it be the washboard abs and the muscular arms? Or those brilliant piercing eyes that seem to look right into our souls? Maybe it’s that thick dark hair we want to run our fingers through. Or the uniform or the chain mail? Or maybe it’s more, much, much more. Could it be the many layers that comprise an alpha’s true character? You know? that command presence they have when they walk into a situation and immediately know what to do: The bad guy is apprehended, the damsel in distress is no longer in one kind of distress but now a completely different kind of distress. I think for me, what makes a guy sexy, whether he is a knight of William the Conqueror or a beat cop, is his brain. It’s all connected to how he works. How he thinks. His compassion, his take control attitude, his willingness to stand…

How often have you read a bio where the author states she’s been making up stories since she was in elementary school? I’m not one of those authors. Sure, I got good grades in English class. I didn’t grumble when the teacher assigned a five-page essay because that wasn’t torture for me. Reading literature was a joy and the book reports were a breeze. However, if someone had told me then that I would someday write a 400 page manuscript and have it published I would have laughed hysterically. I needed a practical education. Like many females of my age group, I took the courses needed to get into college along with a bunch of secretarial courses as back up if the college thing didn’t work out. Including Gregg shorthand. Does anyone remember shorthand? I didn’t think so. Well, college didn’t work out. And I got married and had kids. So over the course of the years I’ve had several jobs – sometimes part time, and occasionally full time, alternating with the times I needed to be a full time Mom (which I was so glad I was able to do and wouldn’t give up those years for anything!).During one…

I am funny. Okay, I may not be stand-on-a-stage-do-The-Last-Comic-Standing funny, but I can tell a funny story and I have a quirky sense of humor. I really like to laugh and I am silly more often than I care to admit in a public forum. When people meet me and they find out what I do, they often assume that I write light-hearted romantic comedies with a sarcastic sense of humor that matches my life “voice”. They are wrong. No, I don’t write romps. I don’t do slapstick. I can’t tell funny to save my life. Instead, I write highly sensual, intensely emotional, dark historical romances set in the Regency period for Avon Books and Avon Red (erotic romances, those are written as Jess Michaels). People emailed me after my debut, Scandalous, came out in October 2005 and told me I made them cry. And I was happy about it! So how did this happen? How did I go from being a reasonably happy person with a high sense of the absurd and the amusing to writing super dark romance? I tell you what, I blame the men. That’s right, it’s not my fault, it’s my heroes. You see, I…

I started my career writing historical romances for Berkley and Kensington, under the name Cynthia Sterling. I’m a history buff and I loved researching the backgrounds for my books — figuring out what kind of clothes everyone wore, what they ate and what they did for entertainment. Those kinds of details are why I love reading historical novels as well. Then I switched to writing contemporary romance. I thought this would require much less research, so I was shocked to find out I was wrong. Yes, I seldom have to look up specific historical detail, but if I send my hero and heroine to a restaurant for a meal, I end up browsing menus of real restaurants for ideas. Many of my books are set in real cities. For example, my current release, A Soldier Comes Home, from Harlequin Superromance, is set in Colorado Springs. Many times while writing that book, I pulled out a map to find the name of a street or location of a landmark so that I could describe it accurately. While you can get away with fudging minor details in a historical novel, it’s much tougher to fake it in a contemporary book. Too many…

I have a confession to make: Most of my friends don’t read romances. For one reason or another, they simply…don’t read romances. Period. Either they’re worried about being judged by the racy covers, or they think all that romance stuff is “a fairy tale,” or they prefer to read exclusively about serial killers, or they’ve tried one (just one!) romance–possibly a decade ago, or more–and have decided the whole genre just isn’t for them. That’s okay with me. I mean, there are occasionally awkward moments between us, I’ll admit that. Because I’m passionate about reading and writing romances! I think they’re awesome. I like to celebrate the power of love, the thrill of attraction, and all the wonderful differences between men and women. At the same time, I’m a live-and-let-live kind of person. I don’t think it’s up to me to try to “convert” anyone to my favorite genre. I wouldn’t like it if someone tried to force me to take up lawn bowling or sushi eating or PlayStation playing (it would be futile; I’m a Nintendo Wii gal). Our dissimilarities make us uniquely interesting, and the world would be a boring place if everyone liked the same things. That…

Last weekend I went to the Reader & Writer Get Together Lori Foster and Dianne Castell host every year in Cincinnati, Ohio. To read more about this event, visit my blog. This was my first time visiting the event and I think any die-hard romance reader should attend. Why? Here are five reasons: It’s great to meet the romance readers you only talk to online. It’s a rare opportunity to spend hours chatting about books with readers who love romance as much as you do. Chances are you will have more in common with these readers than favorite books and authors. It’s fun to meet your favorite authors in a casual environment. (For some reason it’s not that nerve-wracking when everyone is wearing jeans and T-shirts!) Every woman should set aside at least one weekend that is just for her. You spend every other weekend for family, work and chores. A weekend at the Get Together is relaxing and giving you the “me time” you deserve! Susanna Carr www.susannacarr.com/ Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

I’ve been reading romance novels for over twenty years and writing them for over ten years. They are a significant part of my life. I’ve watched trends come and go, and I’ve been part of some of those trends. But one thing remains constant: The heroes and heroines fall in fall. Romance novels are about romance. The Art of Desire is an erotic romance. It’s a wildly passionate book where the characters fall crazy in love while having crazy, heart-thrilling sex. I was accurately quoted in Candy’s June Inside Books column (thanks, Candy!) about how my books used to get censored, and I’d like to expound on that quote, posting it in its entirety. In the old days, I used to get censored by my editors because my love scenes were too graphic, so when the erotica subgenre exploded on the scene, it seemed inevitable that I become part of it. Even my readers kept asking, “When are you going to write an erotica?” So I did it! The Art of Desire is my first really, really sexy book. No censorship. No holds barred. But in spite of the sensuality, I wanted it to be highly romantic and deeply emotional,…