I grew up reading romances. In fact, the first adult novels I remember reading were Victoria Holt’s gothic romances. Full of windswept moors, isolated castles, danger, mystery, suspense, and of course, heart-thumping romances, these books seeped into my bloodstream and I’ve been hooked ever since. My newest book, How to Blackmail a Highlander, book 3 in my MacGregor Lairds series, combines quite a few of my favorite romance-book elements to create a funny, thrilling, and utterly romantic romp through the highlands. These are ten things (in no particular order) that I love in a romance: 1. A good believable conflict – there is always a reason the main couple can’t get together right away, but it drives me nuts if the reason is a simple misunderstanding that a two-second conversation would clear up (though even these can work if done well). I prefer a good, solid “someone will die if we get together” or an “I love you but I’m supposed to hate you” type conflict. A reason to stay apart that has some teeth to it 🙂 2. A flawed heroine – I really love a girl that has some weird quirk…maybe she’s klutzy, or always has her nose…