1–What is the title of your latest release? SIMPLY THE BEST 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A hard-driving sports agent… A failed chocolatier… Her superstar football player brother… A quirky pink and purple food truck… And, to really screw things up, a very unfortunate murder. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? This is a Chicago Stars book, so… Chicago! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Oh my goodness, yes!  She’s quirky, impulsive, passionate about her work as a chocolatier, and she has a good heart, exactly the kind of woman who would fit in my friendship circle. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? See above.  BTW, matching her up with driven, superstar sports agent Brett Rivers was kind of mean of me. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I shocked myself by realizing I like cheap milk chocolate better than fine dark chocolate. Please don’t tell my heroine. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Edit, edit, edit all the way through.  There’s a reason it takes me 2 years to write a book. 8–What’s your favorite…

My top five favorite workplace romances? The author who immediately comes to mind on workplace romances is Jayne Ann Krentz. Most of her early heroes felt like cowboys in the boardroom. I used to eat up her contemporary romances like they were going out of style. So I’d have to put an oldie but a goodie, Sweet Fortune by Jayne Ann Krentz, on my list. And if she’s there, then I have to also add Susan Elizabeth Phillips and the first in her Chicago Stars books, It Had to Be You, about a woman who inherits a football team yet knows nothing about the sport. The humor and conflict between the hero and heroine are laugh-out-loud funny. And the steam factor is high! On a less contemporary note, I’m a huge Shelly Laurenston fan, and she’s known for writing zany paranormal romances. But one workplace romance that’s stayed with me is Big, Bad Beast, which pits wolf shifter and former Marine sniper Dee-Ann Smith up against Ric Van Holtz, her boss. I laugh and flip page after page whenever I’m reading Shelly Laurenston’s books. Staying in the paranormal lane, I’d have to go with Thea Harrison’s The Elder Races series,…

This weekend HarperCollins will be running their first ever digital Romance Festival, in conjunction with some of the world’s best known publishers of romance, to bring you two days of discussions, tips and giveaways for writers of romance and fans – all focused around some of our best loved women’s fiction authors! The line-up has now been announced on the festival blog here, authors include J. Lynn/Jennifer L. Armentrout, Lori Wilde, Eloisa James, Jay Crownover, Kerrelyn Sparks, Molly McAdams, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips,among many others, but for full timings and schedules of discussions, please register for free at the link below: Register for FREE

I recently had the chance to combine three of my favorite things: to meet a favorite author of mine, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, be around other avid readers, and have a fancy high tea at the famous Dallas Adolphus Hotel. It was all so nice and a luxury to be there. Some of my friends find it so fun and interesting that we thought of having a book group gathering around high tea. They can also attest to the great excitement I possessed for meeting one of my favorite authors again. We were celebrating the release of Susan’s newest book, CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE. In Susan’s new book, Meg Koranda has to go out in the big bad world and make it on her own, without the help of her famous parents (who were the stars of one of Susan’s previous books, GLITTER BABY), other siblings, or her best friends. And to make it a little harder–she is loathed by an entire town for the perceived break up of Ted Beaudine’s wedding–the town’s beloved son. One of the great things about Susan’s female characters is that they are always women who even though they hit rock bottom, do not let it stop…

You’re Invited to an … Afternoon Tea with Susan Elizabeth Phillips Susan Elizabeth Phillips on Sunday, January 23rd, 2011! We’ll be gathering in the famed French Room at The Adolphus Hotel with one of the funniest and beloved women romance authors! This is an event you do NOT want to miss! Price $75 and includes a copy CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE to be autographed by SEP. Additional books by Susan Elizabeth Phillips will be available for purchase, portion of sales benefits Plano Family Literacy Purchase Tickets RSVP TO THE MOST RIOTOUS WEDDING OF THE YEAR! Lucy Jorik is the daughter of the former President of the United States. Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends. One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it. Not happy at all…. But even though Meg knows breaking up her best friend’s wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say, “I don’t,” Meg becomes the most hated woman in town. A town where she’s stuck with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her…