It's not a quite a guest post, but the fabulous Tessa Dare and I are over on Dear Author today discussing our frequently maligned heroines, and what it takes to make a heroine likable. The comment thread is chock full of interesting theories and ideas! I'm loving reading through it. Check it out!

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 3:22 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Dear Author, guest blog, Tessa Dare

I'm over at Dear Author today talking about my first sale and how it all went down. One commenter will win my very last ARC of Can't Stand the Heat and a super cute apron! And to double your chances of winning a copy of my book, check out the fabulous Ann Aguirre's blog, where she's running an Easter Egg hunt in which the prize is a signed copy of, you guessed it, Can't Stand the Heat.

Hint: There've been lots of comments on the DA post already, so Ann's site might give better odds! I'm just saying.

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 2:31 PM 3 comments  

Labels: Ann Aguirre, book giveaway, Can't Stand the Heat, Dear Author, guest blog

I don't know about most romance readers, but aside from society-approved books like Jane Eyre and Pride & Prejudice, the first romances I ever read were categories. Whenever my grandma came to visit, I'd sneak them out of her suitcase, take them to my room and read them ny flashlight on the floor of my closet. I was about ten, and yes, I was literally in the closet with my love of romance novels.

Thank the good Lord, things are different now. We can come out of the closet. We no longer have to hide our love of secret babies and oil tycoons and virgin stable girls! There's even a contest going on, all about how cool it is to love category romance.

Today is the final day to enter Jane from Dear Author and SB Sarah's contest on their joint site devoted to straight contemporary romance. I've blogged Save the Contemporary before, and I'm bringing it up again now because if you go to the site and enter the contest, you have the chance to win the LUSH True Romance gift set, which, as a big fan of LUSH from way back, is well worth a few mouse clicks and a tweet or two. Check it out! And while you're there, revel in the fun of a dedicated forum for discussing everything from faked orgasms in Jennifer Crusie novels to make-believe mistresses.

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 8:34 AM 1 comments  

Labels: #stc, Dear Author, Save the Contemporary, Smart Bitches

Those crazy kids, Sarah and Jane, of Smart Bitches and Dear Author fame, are running a super cool contest right now on their genius site, Save the Contemporary. Check it out!

I admit to bias and ulterior motives, for sure. Also to a little bit of eek! that contemporary romances need saving. Contemporary romance was my first love, all the way back to the Harlequins I stole out of my grandma's suitcase whenever she came to visit. And even though I don't write category, I know I was influenced by those stories set in the real world (if the real world were full of tycoons and desert princes and secret mistresses--which it TOTALLY is, I'm sure. In some parts of the world. Shut up.) and featuring heroines who were secretaries or school teachers, rather than superheroines who can, like, breathe underwater or have laser eyes or something. Not that I don't love a good paranormal--I absolutely do! But still, I can't help but feel that contemporaries give us romance in its purest form.

So to help keep this once thriving subgenre alive, forward the Save the Contemporary contest to all your friends! Blog about it! And above all, buy and read Lisa Kleypas's fabulous new book. You might surprise yourself by not even missing the bloodsucking and shapeshifting...

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 9:45 AM 6 comments  

Labels: Dear Author, Save the Contemporary, Smart Bitches