The hero in your book AN UNEXPECTED COWBOY is, no surprise, a cowboy. What do you enjoy about a cowboy hero? As a young reader, I transitioned from Louis L’Amour’s westerns to western romances, so I’ve always loved a cowboy hero. (The romanticized version, of course.) My husband and I enjoy western movies and shows (Yellowstone!), but most of my books are set in New England and cowboys are hard to come by here. There’s something about a man who works hard, plays hard, though, and the hats and boots don’t hurt. (And neither do the snug, faded jeans.) I think many of us have internalized cowboys as a blend of the wild west but with a strong sense of right and wrong, along with old-fashioned chivalry toward women. When I was making notes for the first book in the series and the hero went to the University of Montana, I realized I had the perfect opportunity to bring a cowboy to New England. The fish-out-of-water element was so much fun to play with.   Mallory, the heroine in your story, is a single mother. Can it be challenging writing child characters? It’s very challenging! Making them authentic characters (rather…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Shannon Stacey! WRITES: More Than Neighbors is the first book in the Blackberry Bay series, about living, laughing, and falling in love in a small New England lake town. ABOUT: Writes fun and lighthearted romance novels, usually while wearing pajamas and drinking too much coffee. Loves going for long walks (but only through bookstores) and having long, meaningful conversations with her two dogs while the cat ignores her. Hobbies include watching too much television, decorating her planner with fun stickers, and pretending that tweeting about TV shows is actually part of her job. WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR IN MY IDEAL READER MATCH: Loves the sparks that fly when two opposites attract Believes you can go home again, and you might just find love when you do Loves children, adorable little dogs, and cranky cats who have no problem letting people know who’s in charge Enjoys meeting new people, especially if they have fresh, small-town gossip Loves to root for a widowed single…

Our reviewer retrospective continues with Miranda Owen‘s favorite books of this year!  I love making lists. At the end of a year, friends and fellow readers will post about their top favorite five or ten books of the year. I’m not configured that way. Trying to pick only five or ten favorite books out of the hundred or so I’ve read over the course of a year is unfathomable to me. Instead, I’ve picked about five or so titles in four different categories. Many of these selections fit a few of different categories listed here. I mostly read and review romances, but cozy mysteries are my jam too. Christmas-themed Romance Picks THE MATCHMAKER’S MISTLETOE MISSION by Jaci Burton A COWBOY UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Jessica Clare ONE HOT HOLIDAY by Cynthia Eden MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Stacey Kennedy ONE CHRISTMAS EVE by Shannon Stacey There was a ridiculous amount of amazing Christmas-themed romances that came out this year, many of which came out at the end of October. The ones I’m discussing were my absolute favorites, but there were a bunch more that put a smile on my face. THE MATCHMAKER’S MISTLETOE MISSION by Jaci Burton and A…

I love the holidays so much. Christmas romance movies. Christmas romance novels. And the food. So much food and, for my family, a lot of food that we only have during the holidays because most of the dishes we eat to celebrate would pack on the pounds if they were a part of our regular diet. The sausage balls and crack potatoes I make for Christmas breakfast every year, for example. In One Christmas Eve, Zoe (the bookstore owning heroine who’s got the hots for the slightly uptight business owner next door) shows up for Thanksgiving dinner with a dish of baked macaroni and cheese, which is one of those special occasion dishes the Stacey family only gets for the holidays. I took the original core recipe from Julie James (though I can’t find it on her site and I think it was a Facebook post several years ago), and she said it came from Walt Disney World’s Food & Wine Festival. (Wine being another great holiday tradition!) The second time I made it, I tried adding some dried mustard to give it a little zing. Then I tried adding buffalo chicken and now that’s the only way we eat…

One of the most common questions asked of a writer, and one almost guaranteed to trigger that deer in the headlights look, is where she gets her ideas from. Some authors can give specific answers to that question. “I was watching a disaster movie and thought, what if those two were trapped, thinking they’d die and had sex without ever knowing each other’s names and she got pregnant.” Others use humor to deflect. “I find them on the clearance rack at the department store”. I fall into that group of authors who draw a blank and wish there was an easy answer. I don’t want to say I don’t know because I like to pretend I have a little control over what’s going on my head, at least. But I really don’t. Sometimes a snippet of dialogue will pop in my head. Or an opening scene. Maybe the character. There’s neither rhyme nor reason and all I can do is keep hoping if there’s a Story Idea Fairy, that she doesn’t stop coming around. But with NO PLACE TO HIDE, I had a head start. Jack Donovan and Isabelle Arceneau were introduced in the third book in the series, NO…

November 2010 On Sale: November 1, 2010 Featuring: Kevin Kowalski; Beth Hansen ISBN: 1426890729 EAN: 9781426890727 e-Book $4.99 Add to Wish List Romance Buy at Amazon.com A Fresh Fiction 2010 Favorite Read. “Sexy, sassy and immensely satisfying” Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey One-night stand + two percent condom failure rate = happily ever after? Bar owner Kevin Kowalski is used to women throwing their phone numbers at him, but lately he’s more interested in finding a woman to settle down with. A woman like Beth Hansen. If only their first meeting hadn’t gone so badly… Beth’s tending bar at a wedding when she comes face-to-face with a tuxedo-clad man she never thought she’d see again. She tries to keep her distance from Kevin but, by last call, she can’t say no to his too-blue eyes or the invitation back to his room. Then she slips out before breakfast without leaving a note and, despite their precautions, pregnant. Kevin quickly warms to the idea of being a dad and to seeing where things go with Beth. After all, he’s not the player she thinks he is. But she’s not ready for a relationship and, given his reputation, it’s going to take…

With Thanksgiving right around the corner here in the US and the holiday season upon us, many people are thinking about the things they’re thankful for. Family. Friends. Health. Steady work. Finding a twenty-dollar bill in the pocket of last year’s winter coat. I’m thankful for all of those things. (Well, except for the twenty-dollar bill, which I didn’t find. I checked.)  I’m also very thankful for romance novels. I’m not sure how I’d get through life without them. I’d survive, but my world would be a dreary place. Why am I so thankful for romance novels? That happily-ever-after. While I occasionally read horror or thrillers, I usually want to know ahead of time everything’s going to turn out okay and that the characters I’m about to grow attached to aren’t going to die gruesome deaths. Several years ago, when my husband was going through a health crisis and I needed to distract myself, I reached for a Nora Roberts trilogy I hadn’t read. I knew, no matter how tough life was for her characters or what hardships they faced, I could trust her with my emotions. The main characters would all be happy in the end. The variety! Dark,…