A couple of weeks ago I was talking about books with my eighteen-year-old
daughter, and I mentioned how much Iโd enjoyed a young adult book Iโd recently
read. My daughter instantly picked up her phone (to which she is surgically
glued, Iโm convinced) and Googled the book. She read the blurb and informed me
that it sounded like a very sappy book and not for her. Sappy? Me? I was
momentarily taken aback, but after Iโd thought about it for a while, I was okay
with that. What to my daughter sounded sappy and sentimental, was moving and
tender to me, and I absolutely loved that book. We all have different tastes in
reading, and thank heavens there are so many books out there catering for so
many varied palates.
I love reading romance, and even when I pick up a non-romance book my interest
is always piqued by the relationships between characters. (Maybe thatโs why Iโve
never really gotten into non-fiction.) To me these relationships deepen the
reading experience and bring the characters to life.
We all know about those books that suck us in and pull us away from our everyday
lives, making us stay up late as we read "just one more chapter". Thereโs a
little bit of magic in those books, as if they cast a spell over us so we forget
about mundane things like feeding kids, doing laundry, and even eating. Whenever
I finish one of these books, I always sigh and wish I could write such a book. I
wish I could cast that spell over a reader and hold her captive for a few hours,
so that in the end sheโll sigh with satisfaction and not mind that her teenage
daughter calls her taste in books "sappy". As a writer, Iโd take that as the
highest compliment.
What about you? What was the last book that held you spellbound and did it
contain some romance? Iโd love to know.
About ONE REAL MAN
She's right where he wants her...
Amidst an ugly divorce and an even uglier scandal, Paige Kerrigan has returned
to her parents' estate to hide out until things blow over. While she's enjoying
a late-night naked swim, however, she's shocked to find Owen Bellamyโ her
family's former cute pool boyโstanding poolside. Now he's all hot, grown up, and
renting the Kerrigan propertyโฆand he's definitely not forgiven Paige for how she
used to treat him.
Once, the beautiful but spoiled Paige Kerrigan was everything Owen wanted. Now
she's broke and Owen finally has his revenge...by offering her a place to stay
as his housekeeper. Yet Paige isn't the person he remembers. Instead, she's far
more than he imagined, and far more irresistible than is safe. But the last
thing Owen can afford is to give his heart to the same woman who once broke it.
About Coleen Kwan
Coleen Kwan has been a bookworm all her life. At school English was her favorite
subject, but for some reason she decided on a career in IT. After many years of
programming, she wondered what else there was in life โ and discovered writing.
She loves writing contemporary romance and steampunk romance.
Coleen lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and two children. When she
isnโt writing she enjoys avoiding housework, eating chocolate, and watching
Criminal Minds.
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