Michelle Monkou | Sauntering Down Memory Lane

A friend recently celebrated her wedding on the beach of Cayman Islands. The bright blue sky, turquoise water, and white sandy beach provided a romantic setting for the couple in love. The photos from her wedding remind me of my April release – No One But You – that beautifully highlights a bride standing on a beach ready and waiting for her perfect match.

No One But You, Harlequin Kimani Romance, introduces the first in the Ladies of Distinction series about sorority sisters who pledged together and now face life after university. Basically after college, Jackson Thomas chose his family business over Sarafina Lovell. Now Jackson is back, and Sara plans to give him one sultry goodbye kiss to prove she’s moved on. His sizzling kiss awakens memories of passion too hot to ignore.…

I am happy to have Essence Bestseller Francis Ray share her thoughts about my book: No One But You . . . is romance at its best - fun, sexy, memorable.

Although I write romances, I am an avid romance reader. From 13 or 14 years old, I read romances that had lush settings in Australia, Argentina, English countryside, and so on. Yes, I could have easily enjoyed reading my book in a quiet corner, but I derived great pleasure in discussing the book.

In high school, way before there was such a thing as bookclubs, my friends and I read the book and then conducted major discussions. At first, it was only my friend and me. Then as others heard about our lively conversation, they wanted to join. We didn’t have rules. However, if a person wasn’t an avid reader and, heaven forbid, not an avid romance reader, then she wouldn’t be a good fit with the group. We read almost a book a day and probably two or three books over a weekend. Granted we didn’t have video games and the multitude of TV channels to tempt us.

This connection between romance books and friends has not diminished over time. Being a member of Romance Writers of America places a person in the middle of active, supportive writers, but more importantly readers, of romance. I’m convinced that a writer cannot be a good writer if she does not read.

I won’t pretend that our discussions were always intellectual and thought provoking. Sometimes it simply was sharing common appreciation like when we talked about heroes -- their motivations and conflicts -- never gets dull. And yes, a full discourse about which celebrities match the hero would make the discussion complete. At 15 years old, sharing page numbers of fabulous bodies described in Johanna Lindsey’s books reduced us to a group of giggling girls. Now several decades later, I can still enjoy a few minutes of frivolity with my girlfriends over a romantic, sensual, handsome hero.

I am grateful for the ties between romance books and friendships. Each served to strengthen the enjoyment of the other. I look forward to continuing my deep relish of the latest romance books and the new friends that will come my way.

Introduce a friend to a romance book.

Michelle Monkou
http://www.michellemonkou.com/

Claudia Pemberton | "LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND" - A CREED OF HONOR AND INSPIRATION

First of all, I wish a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone who happens upon my blog. I’d also like to thank the folks at Fresh Fiction for being so gracious and supportive of my debut novel, "Love Leaves No One Behind."

I spent several hours contemplating on what my topic of choice would be for this golden opportunity to speak to such a large gathering of readers, and after some heated debating with myself, I decided to do what I do best …and that is to simply just start talking, and see what my heart has to say.

A few years ago I decided to try my hand at writing. I knew that my endeavor would challenge my intellect (and most certainly my patience) but I had no idea of the impact it would have on my heart and soul.

My story began, believe it or not, as the result of a dream … yes, an actual dream. I remember upon awakening, thinking what a great plot said dream would make for a novel. Convincing myself that attempting to write a book was a grand idea, I set about the daunting task of creating my characters and storyline. At a certain point, I concluded that my heroine needed a friend, and by that I mean a true friend … not a love interest … but a trusted male friend. Without a moment’s hesitation, I decided that her friend would be a military man. After all, who better to represent friendship than a person who is willing to (and often does) lay down his own life for his friends? That is where my entire storyline changed … and so did my heart.

Although a work of fiction, I wanted my characters (especially my military guy) to be as authentic as possible, so I began researching the military and its soldiers. After stumbling upon a copy of the U.S. Army Ranger Creed which declares that an Army Ranger will never leave a fallen comrade behind, my “friend” came to life in the form of U.S. Army Ranger Jesse Daulton.

During research, I read about such heroes as: Jason Dunham, Paul Smith, Gary Gordon, Randall Shughart, Donald Ballard, Robert Ingram, and Roy Benavidez to name but a few. I was heartbroken with respect and admiration by their stories of selfless bravery and honor, but at the same time strengthened by their courage. I was hit with a heavy dose of patriotism, and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. I hope not anyway. I believe patriotism is a condition of the heart … and once it’s discovered, it can never again be denied, silenced, or ignored.

To make a long story short, when I began embracing the military and its heroes (to my pleasant surprise) they embraced me right back. I was invited to participate (alongside Deborah Tainsh, award winning author of “Heart of Hawk”) in the God Bless Fort Benning Day festivities, in Columbus, Georgia on November 17, 2007. God Bless Fort Benning Day is an annual celebration to honor America’s military with more than 20,000 people in attendance. At this prestigious event, I was lucky enough to get to meet hundreds of soldiers in person, and got to speak directly to our soldiers deployed to Iraq by way of a “live feed” with Bob Calvert and "Talking with Heroes.com." That was an awesome privilege … to get to speak to (and thank) our soldiers personally for their service and sacrifice.

To sum up … I’m often asked how I went about writing and publishing my novel. Most of the people asking this question feel as though they have a story in them somewhere just waiting to be told. I tell them to roll up their sleeves, prepare for grueling, long hours in front of a computer screen, don some thick skin (and quick) because you’re going to take some pretty hard hits when it comes to finding a publisher and/or agent … and then prepare for the greatest experience of your life … writing a novel. I highly recommend it! Just close your eyes, open you mind, and in many instances, just let your heart speak. Not only is it a discovery of words and storytelling … often it’s a discovery of something even more worthwhile … an awakening within yourself.

www.writingsbyclaudia.com/

www.myspace.com/writingsbyclaudia

Coming Soon: The sequel to “Love Leaves No One Behind.”

Sherryl Woods | Just Between Friends

When you've lived as long as I have and in as many different places, maintaining friendships takes a lot more time and energy than it did when I was a kid and my best friends lived right upstairs and next door in the same apartment building. Or even when I reached my teens and so many of my friends were at school or in the same youth group at church or just a few houses away in the town where I spent my summers. These days they're in Denver and Ohio, in California and Vermont and even in Egypt. Email makes staying in touch easier, but there's nothing like sitting in the same room with a cup of tea or a margarita and talking over old times or current problems, laughing about whatever strikes us as funny (trust me, the number of things that qualify for laughter increases as the margaritas flow).

At any rate, friendships matter. They make our lives richer, provide much-needed comfort and support in times of tragedy and hours of shared laughter through the years.

Given how I feel about all this, it's not surprising that I wanted to deal with the deep friendship shared by two women -- neighbors for ten years -- in my latest book Mending Fences, in stores now. Marcie Carter and Emily Dobbs have shared joy and heartache over the years, their kids are underfoot in each other's homes. When Marcie's son, Evan, is accused of date rape, it sends repercussions reverberating through both families.

Emily's growing attraction to the detective intent on convicting Evan complicates their lives. And as the story unfolds and it appears that Emily's daughter Dani might have been one of Evan's victims, this deep friendship is tested in ways neither woman could ever have imagined.

And yet, somehow, friendship triumphs. Marcie and Emily are survivors. They are strong, as are their children. And forgiveness is at the core of who they are.

As I wrote this story, I thought of how many times women might face a tragedy or even a small personal crisis without the support of a good friend, without someone who can share advice or provide a shoulder to cry on. And that led to the creation of a new blog, www.justbetweenfriendsblog.com/. You can go to it directly or by going to my website, www.sherrylwoods.com/. There we'll be talking about issues -- big and small -- that matter to you. If you have a topic you especially want to discuss, you'll be able to bring it to our attention. Or you can chime in on any of the topics already posted. This is a blog for you . . . and your friends -- the ones next-door and the ones you're only just meeting online. Join us at our virtual backyard fence and tell us what's on your mind.

Sherryl Woods