How many times have you had to defend your reading preferences? If you read mysteries, science fiction, or even thrillers, I’ll bet you’ve rarely had to explain their appeal to a doubting audience. But if you read romance, that’s a whole different proposition.
Why do I read romance? Because the women never settle. They expect--and get total respect from the men in their lives. They expect—and get unconditional love. That’s it. They expect—and get the mate who is perfect for them. That’s the whole answer in a nutshell.
Beth Cornelison | Five things I love about October
Can it really be October already? I hope so! I love this month, and here is why...
Cooler weather. I admit it. I hate the heat and humidity of summer in the south. Being hot makes me cranky. Ask my husband, he'll tell you it's true! But a miraculous change in the weather sweeps in around the first of October each year. Mornings have a cool nip in the air, and the mid-day sun is warm but not breath-stealing. The first hints of autumn arrive. I love wearing sweaters, the smell of fallen leaves and the evening temperatures that let me jog in the neighborhood without melting. Welcome cooler weather!
Football! By October, high school and college football seasons are in full swing. I love football. In fact, it is one of the few sports I do enjoy watching. I love the school rivalries, the excitement, the sweaty men in tight pants , and spending a Saturday afternoon (and often the evening too!) curled up on the sofa with my hubby watching all the games. Football is a great pleasure of the Fall.
The holidays. October means Halloween and an excuse to decorate my house with pumpkins and buy chocolate! And if Halloween is near, can Thanksgiving and Christmas be far away? Nope! Turkey Day through New Years Day is my favorite time of year. I go holiday crazy! Decorating, music, parties, gifts and church activities. There's nothing about Christmas I don't like... and I start planning for the holidays in October!
My birthday. My birthday is October 5, but I've been know to stretch it out over a week or more. This year I'm shooting for a whole month of celebrating! Some people may dread getting older, but I look at my birthday as a celebration of life. I made it through the ups and downs of another year. I count my blessings--and I have many! Besides, I have a sure fire reason to make my husband take me out to eat wherever I want to go. And eating out is a favorite of mine any time of year! So when I flip my calendar and see October, I have plenty of reasons to cheer.
What's that? I said FIVE reasons I love October? Well, number five is my newest release from Silhouette Romantic Suspense! Here's a bit about it...
When Clay Colton reports a crime on his ranch property, his ex-wife Tamara is on the CSI team that arrives from out of town to sweep the scene. The intervening years have changed his ex-wife but not his feelings for her. As evidence of a grisly murder on his property mounts and an accident injures Tamara, Clay insists she recuperate at his ranch where he can protect her. But how can he protect his heart when rekindled memories and an undeniable attraction draw Tamara back into his arms?
Last November (another great month!) I was thrilled to be asked to participate in the Coltons Family First Continuity in the Silhouette Romantic Suspense line. I jumped at the opportunity, even though it meant writing under a deadline through the holidays (see above for how I feel about the holidays!). I was honored to be a part of a project with stars like Marie Ferrarella, Carla Cassidy and Justine Davis. Writing the reunion story for rancher Clay Colton and Tamara, his ex-wife, was a blast. Who doesn't like a good reunion story? I fell in love with the whole Colton clan and hope you will too!
So this October I have an extra reason to welcome the Fall, cool weather , football and the pre-holiday anticipation... Sharing Rancher's Redemption with my readers! Happy reading and happy October!
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, too. I created a contemporary story with a historical twist, with a hundred-year-old journal as an integral part of the plot. The historical portions gave me the opportunity to write a classic romance with tragic elements. The contemporary portions gave me the chance to spread my naughty wings and write in my most erotic voice.
The result has been rewarded. So far, The Art of Desire has garnered exceptional reviews, including a Top Pick from Romantic Times. I couldn’t be more thrilled.
While I was writing The Art of Desire, I debated if I should keep my name (Sheri WhiteFeather) or change it. Yes, lots of my readers wanted me to pen an erotica, but what about the rest of them? Would they prefer that I keep my identities separate, so they would know what to expect? Would writing naughty books under my Harlequin name confuse them?
I decided to become Cherie Feather, which flowed naturally from Sheri WhiteFeather. I let readers know that Cherie is Sheri, but that my Cheri’s books are much, much, edgier.
If you’re curious about The Art of Desire, here’s the back cover blurb:
Museum director Mandy Cooper has always been obsessed with nineteenth-century artist Catherine Burke—and the artist’s erotically charged relationship with Atacar, her enthralling American Indian lover. But Mandy’s link to the legendary couple runs deeper than she knows. She’s having a heated affair herself—with Jared Cabrillo, Atacar’s perilously handsome great-great nephew. And the consuming passion Atacar once used to seduce Catherine is now being engaged by Jared. He knows precisely what it takes to move a woman…
He’s in possession of Catherine’s wildly explicit journal. He knows every intimate detail of what she wanted and needed. But he also knows how desperately Catherine had loved Atacar and how dangerously he’d loved her. The journal is timeless and tragic, and the secrets contained within its pages can bring Mandy and Jared together, or just as surely destroy them both—desire by shocking desire.
If that piqued your interest, watch the book trailer.
In July, I have a WhiteFeather release called Killer Passion. It’s part of a Silhouette Romantic Suspense miniseries called Seduction Summer with authors Nina Bruhns and Cindy Dees. Nina, Cindy and I were asked to write hot, suspenseful stories, and we had a blast creating romances set in Fiji with a serial killer stalking lovers on the beach.
I had every intention of writing a blog about my latest release for Silhouette Romantic Suspense, SAFE WITH A STRANGER (the first book in my new trilogy called The Safekeepers.) The Safekeepers is a series of suspense novels about bodyguards for children--with the fun addition of Mexican witchcraft and a family curse. Or maybe I could’ve blogged about connected books. That seems to be my thing lately. My last series for Silhouette was six books long! I just don’t seem to be able to write single books anymore. I like fleshing out characters over several books and really enjoy revealing a series-long connection inside each book.
But as I was sitting here at my desk, my mind wandered off (as it usually does,) and I began thinking about why I write at all. As I have said before, I hate to write. Really I do. Oh, I love telling stories. I love getting into the heads of my characters. I love doing research. And I love finding just the right word to make a sentence sing. But the process of sitting my back end into a chair and shoveling out the words makes me want to cringe. In fact, right now I am avoiding beginning a new work that has a looming deadline date.
So why do it? I can’t say it’s because I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I haven’t. What I’ve always wanted to be was a reader. I guess I should’ve been an editor. Or maybe a librarian. But no, those weren’t really right either. Actually, what I have always, always, been is a dreamer. I make up stories in my head. And have done so since I was two or three years old. Reading is just an excuse to tweak my stories into something better—in my head.
If my father was still alive, he might be surprised to find that at this point I have written twenty-three books (all in the category lines for Silhouette.) Many times while I was a teenager he would look at me with my head in the clouds and call me lazy. He couldn’t see how I would ever accomplish anything when all I ever did was daydream.
My mother knew better. She was the real reader in the family. I can remember as a little girl being frustrated with trying to get her attention only to find that she was so absorbed in a book she couldn’t even hear her name being called. I can do that too, by the way. Get lost in a book.
Mother knew in her heart what I should do, even when I didn’t. In high school she nudged me toward creative writing, but I was so wrapped up in earning a living that I couldn’t see my way clear to giving it a try. Not me. Nah uh. I became a stockbroker. I did fairly well at it too, but I was never totally happy and I didn’t know why.
Not until my mother had a stroke. My father was gone by then and I became Mom’s main caregiver. I took a leave of absence from my job and worked with her everyday. She could no longer read or watch TV, her eyesight betrayed her. So in an effort to make her hours more pleasant, my sister and I found books on tape. But that wasn’t a perfect solution either. Her mind wandered too much. In fact, she began daydreaming stories about all of us. So I went along with her and helped make up the story lines. While she was in the nursing home, the nurses would become fascinated to hear our stories. The hours went by quickly and I found I enjoyed entertaining people by doing what I’ve always done—daydreaming things in my head.
Still, I might not have given it a second thought if in the week before my mother passed away she hadn’t asked me to consider writing books as a career. She knew how much I loved giving others pleasure and taking them away from their troubles for a while. And bless her heart, she was just positive I would be good at writing the stories down. I didn’t know it for sure, and my husband was completely unconvinced. But I made the promise and then did my best to make it happen.
So to all of you mothers out there, nudge your children to do what’s in their hearts—even if they can’t see it. And to all of you dreamers out there, I’ll be the mother and say maybe it’s time to stop dreaming and make it happen.
I dream in Technicolor and with dialog and scenes fully formed. What do you dream about?
Linda’s latest release from Silhouette Romantic Suspense is Safe With A Stranger, now available on stands and online from eharlequin.com, Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please visit her at http://www.lindaconrad.com/ for the latest news, extras, contests and a complete Behind the Book description of The Safekeepers series!
Anna Marcus, the heroine of my book Seduced for the Inheritance is a tough cookie. She’s dealing with the fallout of divorce and bankruptcy, and is freshly bereaved. Then she runs into my arrogant, demanding (and of course, irresistible) hero. Anna has just unexpectedly inherited her childhood home, a tiny cottage in the middle of the huge Paradiso estate. When estate-owner Naldo de Leon tries to buy back what he sees as an integral part of his own domain, does she hand it over with a whimper and run away?
Heck no. She’s constitutionally incapable of doing that. In fact, the more he tries to rush her and goad her into selling, the harder she fights back. She’s as stubborn, proud and insistent as Naldo…something he slowly, but surely, comes to appreciate and admire.
Anna is an ‘alpha female’ who can’t be pushed around, even by the most determined ‘alpha male.’
I enjoy writing the kind of strong heroines who stand up for their beliefs and their rights, even when that makes life more difficult for them. Perhaps I enjoy living vicariously through them. In real life I dislike conflict and will sometimes let an annoyance slide to avoid a confrontation. It’s fun to write about a woman who doesn’t mind taking the heat.
Most readers like a romance heroine to be someone they can identify with, and who they’d like to be friends with. Over the years, I think heroines have changed to reflect our changing society. These days, most of us have demanding careers and busy family lives, and can readily identify with strong women who work hard for what they want and won’t stand for being pushed around.
In a story with a strong alpha male hero, I especially enjoy seeing him matched with a woman who won’t let him steamroll over her. It makes for a lot of spark and passion, and I can picture them living happily ever after as equal partners who keep each other on their toes. At Book Expo America this summer, I was signing copies of my debut book The Boss’s Demand, when a silver-haired lady walked up to the counter, peered at my cover, then collared me: “Does she have any backbone?” I explained that indeed she did. She went on to tell me she could only read books with strong heroines. When pressed, her friend admitted that she preferred sweet, gentle heroines.
Do you like alpha females? Or do you prefer a softer, more yielding heroine? Who are some of your favorite romance heroines, and what makes you like them so much?
Everyone who enters my contest today will be entered to win a copy of Seduced for the Inheritance . If you already have the book (a quality to be admired!) you will win a copy of my July book The Boss’s Demand. If you already own that too, then I dearly love you and I will give you something else.
How many times have you had to defend your reading preferences? If you read mysteries, science fiction, or even thrillers, I’ll bet you’ve rarely had to explain their appeal to a doubting audience. But if you read romance, that’s a whole different proposition. 
