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Y'all know I love me some subplot romance. (Frankie and Jess, anyone?) The secondary romance provides an amazing opportunity to bend and break those unwritten rules that govern our beloved genre. For my new trilogy, for example, I chose to push the envelope in two directions with Claire and Kane. Claire is an older (over 40) heroine (who is also French!) and Kane is younger (in his 20s) and (gasp!) a rock star. Yes! Cougar romance with a rock star twist. And maybe that doesn't sound great to you, right off the bat--the same way some readers have confessed to me that the abstract idea of two guys falling in love didn't appeal to them...but once they met Frankie and Jess, the subplot heroes from my Market trilogy, they were hooked.
Give Claire and Kane a chance to hook you! And think about what other romance rules you've noticed, and that you would maybe like to take a sledgehammer to. Plus-size heroines, for instance! Virgin heroes, interracial couples...what else?
I'm home from the Romance Writers of America conference!
Okay, technically I've been home since Saturday afternoon. But I needed time to recover from having way too much fun, and getting way too much business accomplished in NYC. Plus, 4th of July festivities! Which, in my family, mainly consist of eating ethnic food to celebrate the fact that America is a nation of immigrants. This year, since I'd been in NYC for the previous week, I was craving Mexican food and sangria! Yum.
Today I'm back at my desk, about to dig into the revisions for Some Like it Hot. I can't wait to see how it turns out! Revisions are always nerve-wracking, but believe it or not, they're also my favorite part of the writing process. That sense of possibility opening back up in front of you, that ability to take the story and these characters you finally know well in a whole new direction--it's kind of magical. And a lot of work! But I'm ready.
What's the first thing you do when you get home from a long trip? I kiss these guys:
We had huge storms this morning, lots of torrential rain--and boy, have we needed it. So I'm glad, even though Austin drivers are insane in the rain. Lots of slow, shocked driving by people staring up at the sky and wondering what the heck that wet stuff is.
In addition to filling our creeks and watering our greenery, the rain is good for other things. For instance, writing. A rainy day is a great day to hole up in my house with a cup of hot tea and while my laptop and I do sexy things to each other. I love to bake on rainy days (although I'm trying to resist--I can't afford to eat an entire batch of snickerdoodles by myself) and I love to read. But writing is my #1 rainy day activity (especially when I'm on deadline; funny how that works) so that's what I'm up to this afternoon.
How about you? How do you like to spend your rainy afternoons?
 <=====[Edited to correct book cover] Is this [STILL] not one of the cutest covers you've ever seen?? I might even love it more than The Accidental Human!
Dakota Cassidy is chatting online with TKA next Thursday, June 25th @ 9pm ET about her new release, KISS & HELL. This fab novel is the first in a new series.
Dakota is well-known for her hilarious ACCIDENTAL books. The third novel in the series, THE ACCIDENTAL HUMAN, premiered in March. We have a lot of fab giveaways planned for the chat, and Dakota is personally giving away a $25.00 Amazon gift certificate! Here are the deets on KISS & HELL:
Delaney Markham doesn't just see dead people, she hears them too. And FYI-communicating with tortured souls all day can really wreak havoc on your love life. After all, no one wants to date the crazy chick that talks to herself. Sans boyfriend, Delaney makes the best of her gift by holding séances and earns a pretty penny for them too, that is until one incredibly annoying ghost just won't go away. Now, if she could only get her hands on him.
When he materializes wearing nothing, Delaney knows something's up. Besides being sinfully hot-in a college professor sort of way-all signs point to Clyde Atwell being much more than the ordinary spirit. In fact, he's a newbie demon whose first assignment is to take Delaney back down to hell with him. Yeah, like that's gonna happen on the first date. If Delaney's old nemesis Lucifer thinks she's going down without one hell of a fight, he's got another thing coming… CHAT INFO:
What: Online Chat with Dakota Cassidy
When: Thursday, June 25th @ 9pm ET
Your computer must be Java enabled to chat
It's a big week for new releases! Jennifer Haymore's debut historical is out, and if you're an ebook reader, they're running a special $1.99 price on it at Amazon and Fictionwise (and with Fictionwise, you actually get an even lower price after the rebate.) It's a fabulous way to check out a new author; I definitely took advantage of it, myself!
A HINT OF WICKED by Jennifer Haymore “A unique, heart-tugging story with sympathetic, larger-than-life characters, intriguing plot twists, and sensual love scenes make A HINT OF WICKED an impressive romance debut!” – New York Times bestselling author Nicole Jordan  CAUGHT BETWEEN DUTY AND DESIRE . . . Sophie, the Duchess of Calton, has finally moved on. After seven years mourning the loss of her husband, Garrett, at Waterloo, she has married his cousin and heir, Tristan. Sophie gives herself to him body and soul. . . until the day Garrett returns from the Continent, demanding his title, his lands-and his wife. TORN BETWEEN TWO HUSBANDS . . . Now Sophie must choose between her first love and her new love, knowing that no matter what, her choice will destroy one of the men she adores. Will it be Garrett, her childhood sweetheart, whose loss nearly destroyed her once already? Or will it be Tristan, beloved friend turned lover, who supported her through the last, dark years and introduced her to a passion she had never known? As her two husbands battle for her heart, Sophie finds herself immersed in a dangerous game-where the stakes are not only love . . . but life and death. Read the beginning of A HINT OF WICKED here.
Buy it at Barnes & Noble * Borders
Also available in e-Book format www.jenniferhaymore.com
 Today marks the official beginning of the Summer Reading Trail, a selection of fabulous free reads to help you discover new writers, check out new and upcoming books, and just generally keep you cool and happy in the hot months to come. For June's free reads, go here. New stories will appear every month, so be sure to check back!
 Does anyone else feel like the wheel is turning and bringing historical romance back to prominence? It seems that every book I hear about on Twitter and from friends is a historical. At Borders, the co-op tables are full of them, and not just the standby favorites like Eloisa James and Suzanne Enoch, either.
I'm willing to believe it might be a personal perceptual thing--I'm going through quite a historical renaissance myself just at the moment. I've read three historicals in the last couple of weeks that have completely rekindled my adoration for my first romance novel love.
The first was The Legend of the Werestag, a novella prequel to the upcoming series by Tessa Dare. Werestag, much ballyhooed and buzzed by such difficult critics as Jane from Dear Author and Smart Bitch Sarah, was published by Samhain as a way to build excitement before the debut of Tessa's first trilogy, being published back-to-back by Ballantine. I will confess, I read it because I follow Tessa on Twitter and I like her, and also because I wanted to find out what made Sarah and Jane so excited about this weirdly titled non-paranormal historical. Almost immediately, though, I forgot why I picked it up, or even that I was reading at all. I was THAT sucked into the story, which is deliciously gothic and sexy. The writing is atmospheric without veering into melodrama, and the characters are beautifully drawn. I never wanted it to end.
But it was a novella! Satisfying, yes, but still short enough to whet my appetite for more. While I definitely plan to buy Goddess of the Hunt when it hits shelves at the end of July, I couldn't wait that long to feed my historical hunger.
So I turned to another book I'd heard about on Twitter (this is turning into a blog about how Twitter can help you find the perfect read for any mood, isn't it?) when it came out, and several of the authors I follow, including Tessa, were going ballistic over it. That would be the boringly packaged, incomparably exciting latest by Jennifer Ashley: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. Ms. Ashley isn't a new author, but she was new to me, and I had no preconceived notions of what to expect when I picked up her book at my local Borders. Oh, not precisely true--I had heard several people comment that they almost didn't read it, not expecting to be able to enjoy a hero like Lord Ian, but when they gave it a chance, they were blown away. Also, Lord Ian was compared to Christian, the stroke victim hero of Laura Kinsale's classic (and one of the first romance novels I ev er read) Flowers from the Storm. So. He had a lot to live up to, did Lord Ian.
By page four, I wasn't remotely concerned that he would. Lord Ian Mackenzie is unique in the world of romance. The comparison to Christian is valid and justified, but to compare them implies a similarity that detracts from Ian's originality and utterly endearing individuality. I could not have loved him more. Ms. Ashley did an incredible job of showing the world through his eyes, giving us his skewed, awkward, beautiful perspective without reducing him to an object of pity. And the heroine! Beth is a widow...who actually loved and had pleasurable sex with her first husband! Talk about pushing the envelope and trashing tropes.
From there, I was good and hooked. Of course, The Madness of Lord Ian turns out to be the first in a new series--but the story of Ian's next Scottish brother isn't out until the middle of next year. *sob* So I went back to (where else?) Twitter for my next reading rec. It turns out that when you ask a group of avid romance readers what their favorite historical romance is, half will respond with Flowers from the Storm, and the other half will say Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. Having already read and re-read everything Kinsale ever wrote, I decided to give LoS a try. I'd never heard of Loretta Chase before Berkley bought and published Miss Wonderful, amid great rejoicing, in 2004. I heard nothing for weeks but how fabulous an author she was, but I was buried under a pile of slush manuscripts and the last thing I had time for was to read for pleasure.
Having recently decided that I don't have time NOT to read while I'm writing, I started Lord of Scoundrels last night. And finished it this morning around 11. I'm not kidding; I woke up at 6:30 to read this book. I can't believe how many times I laughed, got teary, and nearly threw my hands up in despair of ever writing a book half so entertaining and heart-wrenchingly wonderful. The heroine? One of my best friends in the whole world. I want to BE Jessica Trent when I grow up. Practical, tough-minded, utterly unabashed by whatever the hero throws at her--and all in a convincing, unshrewish way! And the hero. Oh my word. From the masterful prologue describing him as an ugly, uncertain child with a violent temper, I was completely entranced. Every mean, sarcastic word out of his mouth, and there are plenty, makes sense. He's the antithesis of the cold, unfeeling aristocrat who often stomps through the pages of historical romance. While Dain couldn't be more alpha, he's also sensitive as a raw wound and willing to do anything to protect himself. I believed every reaction, every word from his mouth, and felt like I knew him better than most people I hang out with on a day-to-day basis. I can see precisely why Lord of Scoundrels is such a favorite. I'm not sure if it's usurped Shadow and the Star or Flowers from the Storm as my personal top pick; those were the books that started me down the path that led to my lifelong obsession with romance, after all. Ask me again in a few years, when I've had a chance to reread Lord of Scoundrels as many times as I've enjoyed those books I discovered at twelve.
For those of you wondering about the health of my laptop, thank you for your condolences and support, but it's home from the hospital now and seems to be recuperating nicely. The top cover was replaced, which makes it look like new! And also it turns on, which is a lovely feature.
In other news, my business cards came in a few weeks ago and I forgot to show them to you, so here! Take a peek. (Sorry for the blur, I took ten pics and none of them is sharp.) I like them because they are the card equivalent of the mullet: business in the front, party in the back.
 Got my box of Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) for Can't Stand the Heat last night, and screamed the house down. I'm so happy with them! They are gorgeous, full color covers and inside--omg, inside, it looks like a REAL BOOK! Thrills and chills over here today. Which is great, because the adrenaline from this will propel me through the rest of my page proofs. Ugh!
What are some ways you've heard of/thought of for using ARC's? I know some people give them away as contest prizes, and a portion of them should go to reviewers and booksellers, although my publisher is handling a lot of that. Anything else that's innovative and fun?
Yesterday I woke up with a flash of brilliance that solved all the problems I've been having with my current book, On the Steamy Side (Spring '10). It was the best feeling! Pacing, chemistry, plot--it tightens and simplifies everything! I'm now as excited and energized to write as I was when I first started the manuscript. I've got that feeling you can get from a good revision letter, where you see the story opening up in front of you, bursting with possibilities and potential and the freedom to play with your characters and see what happens.
So I'm going to get on that! I wrote 13 pages yesterday, and my goal is at least ten pages today, probably more. Hope you're all having good, productive days. What are your plans for today?
I wrote 50 pages last week, which was great, but afterward my brain felt mushy like overcooked spinach and I ended up slacking off on the page count all weekend. I did a lot of thinking about the book, which is a huge part of my process, but still, when the time came to get my rear back in gear yesterday, I struggled to hit my stride.
Today? That's not an option. I must produce! So I'm heading into the zone (where there is no Twitter, no email, and in fact, no internet) and not coming back out until I have at least ten pages written. If I can get more than that? Great. But ten is the minimum. My plan is to reread and polish the last chapter I wrote to get me back into the story, then surge forward.
How do you get yourself in the writing zone? Music? Images? I'm open to suggestions!
Oh, and one quick thing before I unplug--today is the release day for Maria Geraci's fabulous, fun, sexy debut, Bunco Babes Tell All!  This is the quintessential beach read, people. So you're not heading to the beach for a while yet? I know you wish you were there already--and that's what the Bunco Babes of Whispering Bay deliver. Crack this book and you'll be instantly transported to sunny Florida, where Kitty and her friends party, gossip, and fall in love. Mmm, I can smell the salt from the ocean already--or is that from the margaritas?
The 2009 Romantic Times convention was a ton of fun, even taking into account the insanely inadequate hotel--it was like being at college again, in a dorm that was inconveniently located way far away from all my classes and the dining hall. Despite the difficulties of traipsing half a mile in killer heels and sweaty weather, I had a good time making new friends and catching up with old ones. All the parties I made it to were fabulous; I now want to start a local bunco chapter and buy a pair of gladiator sandals.
I came home Sunday to gorgeous Ohio weather--spring had finally sprung! All the trees exploded i nto bloom while I was gone, and Stinger and I spent the afternoon on the deck drinking my new favorite thing, Wyder's Dry Peach Cider. It tastes exactly like you want peach cider to taste, and was a perfect way to usher in the sunshine. I'm especially glad we took the time to enjoy it, because today Ohio is back to its chilly ways. Although, since I'm on a strict writing schedule for the next month, I have to say that today's weather really suits my goals. I love to be cuddled up in my office with my characters when it's rainy and gray outside. Right now I've got my windows open so I can hear the constant patter of the drops on my roof. I'm in the perfect frame of mind to rock out ten pages!
What's your favorite writing weather?
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