We have a winner! Had to wait until my little Diva came up here to help me choose a winner.

The winner of PARTING GIFTS by Lorraine Heath is………………

Jess P!!

Congrats Jess!

I’ll be mailing out the book to you soon! Thanks for entering my little contest.

Confessions of a virgin (a virgin guest blogger, that is)

Isn’t it wonderful how life can be counted on to give you new experiences just when you’re feeling old and uninspired?

When the lovely Fatin (who looks a lot like Jon Bon Jovi, I’ve noticed) asked me to be a guest blogger, I didn’t hesitate. I believe my exact words were: “Yes, yes, thank you so much, nobody’s ever asked me before and all my friends send out notices of their guest blogs and I was feeling so left out.”

Pathetic, huh?

But this is what happens when you live in relative isolation and spend your days with imaginary people. You sometimes forget that a big world is out there and you’re supposed to interact. Mingle. Make small talk. Ask questions. Sip your cosmo without slurping.

Oh, and you’re supposed to do this without taking notes. I guess that’s kinda rude. So, here’s my promise: what happens in this blog, stays in this blog. (Unless one of my characters just happens to have something very similar occur in their—no, no, I can do this. Really. Trust me.)

So, how ‘bout we start out with a safe conversational subject: books. I love books, but there are times when I resent them. I start feeling that my stack of TBRs is judging me. I picture them talking amongst themselves when I leave the room:

“Hey, first book below me, how long have you been in this pile?”

“Long enough. See the dust on my cover?”

“Oh, dear. It’s very thick. I can barely make out your title. Maybe that means she’s forgotten why she bought you in the first place and she’ll read me first.”

“Hmph. Don’t count on it. I’ve been here on the bottom since before you were printed. I think she’s forgotten how to read.”

“You? Seriously? You’re like a New York Times bestseller, aren’t you? Good grief. If you can’t get read, I’m doomed. I’m just a series romance. But I did hear her say I was written by one of her friends so maybe that will help.”

“Don’t count on it, honey. I was written by one of her friends, too. She claims to love my author’s writing, but here I sit. Unread.”

“At least, she can see my cover. No dust.”

“Yet.”

So, my first conversational question is: how many books are in your TBR stack?

Unfortunately, I have to refuse to answer on the grounds the books might revolt. Plus, I don’t really know. I keep the piles in separate rooms. A few in my office. Four beside my bed. Two in the sauna. (Where I do Sudoku when I should be reading. Sigh.)

Have you ever bought a book then gotten it home and asked yourself why you bought it?

This happens to me all the time. Usually with books I buy at Costco, and mostly with “women’s fiction” books. I’m often drawn to the premise described on the back jacket but then find the writing is too much. I like stories where the characters live on the page. I hate getting jerked out of a story by something the author needed to get off his or her chest.

Do you finish every book you start?

I have to admit, no. I used to feel guilty about this. I used to clean my plate at every meal, too. But then my pants didn’t fit so hot. Now, I embrace the philosophy: Life is short, eat dessert first. And I don’t even finish my dessert if I don’t like it.

Have you ever read a book DESPITE the cover, the title or the back jacket copy?

I ask because my book, A BABY ON THE WAY, won a lovely award last year, and one of the judges commented that she hated the cover and the title, but thoroughly enjoyed the book.

And with my most recent book, BABY BY CONTRACT, a reviewer said she didn’t think she’d like it given the back cover copy, but wound up loving the book (and giving it a 5-star review with great pull quotes).

I buy books for lots of reasons—to support my friends, because the premise interests me, for the cover, and, most typically, because someone recommended it.  So, if you’re unsure about whether or not you’d like BABY BY CONTRACT, call my daughter-in-law. Seriously. She’s a tough critic and when she finished this book, she told me it was my best to date and she would have been royally P.O.ed if it hadn’t been the first in a series because she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Libby and Cooper. Now, that’s a grassroots review. J

And since this blog is supposed to be about my new book and not my lack of social graces, I suppose I should mention a few things about BABY BY CONTRACT.

I grew up in South Dakota. Although I moved to California twenty-seven years ago, I still think of that state as home. And I always planned to set a book in the Black Hills. Why? Because it’s a truly special place. Go there. You’ll feel it, I promise. And there’s an immense wealth of history, geography and humanity to tap into for your characters living in this area. I had so much fun imagining Sentinel Pass. And last fall, I took a trip back to the Black Hills to find the exact location of this imaginary town. I’ve posted photos on my website that give visual hints of where it can be found.

I will admit, though, the series didn’t start out in the Black Hills. My first idea was to write a family saga about five brothers who return to South Dakota to take over the family farm after their father dies. My editor at the time wasn’t crazy about the idea. She wanted to see some other options. I dumped the eastern part of the state in a heartbeat and zeroed in on the Black Hills. The question that came to mind was: what happens when a small town that truly isn’t ready for its close-up becomes the focus of a TV show? Think: The Bachelor meets Northern Exposure. All sorts of fun ideas started to percolate and my editor was pleased.

The five books in this series are scheduled for release at 4-month intervals between now and Sept. 2009. Are they all plotted? Absolutely not. I know the main characters—three are Libby’s bookclub friends and the fourth story belongs to her brother, a widower with a young daughter. I also have a pretty clear grasp of the main conflict in the stories. And, of course, I have the setting, but the rest is floating around in muse land at the moment. Where I should be, actually. I feel a deadline coming on.

Any other questions? Is it too early for that cosmo?

Deb

****Don’t forget to leave a comment. Deb has offered six readers a chance to win one book off her backlist. Check out her books here and her website here.

Because I’m in a giveaway type of mood, I decided to join Bloggy Giveaways after finding out about them through Angie’s and Jaci’s blog. Since I’m already giving away a Lorraine Heath hard-to-find book, I decided to go further than that and offer one lucky reader a complete set of The Rock Creek Six series by Linda Devlin and Lori Handeland for this giveaway. All you have to do is let me know what new releases you’re looking forward to adding to your TBR. Easy, no?

Rules: One comment per household. Open to those who live overseas so feel free to comment. Contest will end Wednesday, April 30, 2008. Winner will be announced on the blog late Wednesday night and will have 48 hours to send me their snail mail address so I can send out the books.

Don’t forget to check out Bloggy Giveaways too. They have a ton of contests listed there.

We have a winner! The winner of Bronwyn’s post is…….

Pam P.!!

Congrats Pam!

Email me your snail mail addy at mad @ romancereaderatheart.com (without the spaces) to claim your prize. Enjoy!

They fulfilled a promise for tomorrow– with a tender vow of love…

Maddie: Desperate for food and shelter, she came to a Texas brothel, knowing what she had to do to survive…

Charles: A widower with three children, he knew he wanted more from Maddie than one night of pleasure. He wanted to marry her..

Overnight she went from a dire situation to a comfortable home filled with the warmth of family. But the truth behind their quick marriage was bittersweet– for Charles knew he was dying, and he wanted more than anything to leave his children with the gift of love, with a kind and caring mother. And in his race against time, he made the boldest decision of all: Maddie could build a new life– and a loving home– with his brother, Jesse. For even as the tender memories of a love past live on, the heart endures, ready to love once more…

Yesterday my Internet connection was very spotty…each time I signed on, I got booted right off. After the fifth time it happened, I decided to just shut it down (after several curse words were said *G*) and clean my office. In cleaning it, I found a lot of doubles…and I mean a lot. Found six on Friday and eight yesterday. Guess I need to keep better track of what I buy, huh? Anyway, I found a second copy of one of my favorite favorite books. PARTING GIFTS by Lorraine Heath. No matter how many times I reread this, it still makes me cry as if I’m reading it for the first time. I love it…can’t say enough about it and so I decided to give away my extra copy of it to share my love of it with another reader. But you’re going to have to work for it.

Like last time, answer the question below by filling out the Book Entry Form here. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, April 30, 2008. Probably late on Wednesday night to give everyone a chance to enter.

Question: What other name(s) does Lorraine Heath publish under?

Answer can be found at her website here. Good luck!

One more to add!

Roaming the Russian steppes a thousand years ago, a brutal warrior struck a terrifying deal. In exchange for being able to transform into a heartless predator, he promised his soul-and the souls of his descendents-to the devil.

Brutally handsome cop Doug Black is determined to find the birth family who left him with nothing but a terrifying inheritance: the ability to change into a savage golden cougar. His search leads him to a woman as dauntless and exotic as her name. Firebird Wilder is bitterly familiar with supernatural gifts, and flees on discovering his secret, leaving Doug alone once more. But no one can escape a wild cougar on the hunt. When he finds her, they both must decide which is more powerful … the love that binds them together … or the secrets that threaten to tear them apart.

Excerpt can be found here.

More books to add to your TBB list!

For the ability to transform into a heartless predator, a brutal warrior promised his soul-and the souls of his descendents-to the devil. Now, one thousand years later, the Wilder brothers battle the darkness inside them.

Blessed-or cursed-with the ability to change into a sleek, cruel panther, and driven by a dark soul he’s accepted as his fate, powerful Adrik Wilder abandons his family and his honor to pursue a life of wickedness. He excels at every vice, kidnapping strong-willed Karen Sonnet and forcing her to welcome the helpless pleasure only he can give her. But Karen’s spirit and passion make him question the force of his family’s curse, for she could be the key to their survival. And when a new evil emerges, Adrik must choose whether to enact revenge on his enemies and redeem his soul or save Karen from a fate worse than death.

Excerpt can be found here.

Mark your calendars! Look what coming out by Lisa Marie Rice in July 2008.

LOVE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS SECRET OF ALL…

Small-town librarian Charity Prewitt never dreamed she’d meet and fall in love with a man like Nicholas Ames.  The handsome, rich, charming, sexy-as-hell millionaire blew into tiny Parker’s Ridge, Vermont, and immediately rocked her world.  Powerful, sensual, the perfect man, Nick knows all the right words — and all the right spots to touch, sending her soaring to dizzying new heights of ecstatic abandon.  Never before has prim and proper Charity leapt into bed with a perfect stranger — and now that she’s there with him, nothing is going to drag her away!

But Nick Ames is not who he claims to be.  In truth, he is Nicholas Ireland — the one they call “Iceman.”  A former Delta Force operator, now a high-level undercover agent, he will do whatever his government asks of him — lie, seduce, betray… even kill, if necessary — for the sake of the mission.  And this time his mission is Charity Prewitt.

Suddenly one woman has broken down his chilly restraint and ignited his passions completely.  And before the erotic dream turns into a nightmare, will Charity be able to melt the Iceman’s cold, cold heart?

For the last week or so, there has been a huge discussion on Dear Author about how a certain author is bullying reviewers and manipulating the reviews at Amazon so that only her 5 star reviews are shown. Anything less than 5 stars she gets Amazon to remove. Because I feel we have to take a stand and let this author know we won’t stand for her sneaky and shameful ways, I’m sharing a petition Jane at Dear Author started. We’re asking Amazon to change the way they run the site when it comes to reviewing books. Please go read it and sign it. This author has got to be stopped. If she feels the need to track down a reviewer’s personal info because of a 3 star review and imply threats to the reviewer, her family, even her CHILDREN, I wonder what she’ll do should she ever get a 1 star review?  Anyone remember the movie Psycho? That shower scene? Cue the theme music because that’s all I keep thinking about right now.

Amnesia had stolen millionaire businessman Donovan Keane’s memory. But one look at treacherous beauty Susannah Horton, and Van could picture every delicious detail of the weekend they’d spent in his bed. She’d staged their affair to ruin an important deal—a deal about to go to her fiancé. Not that Van would let that happen. During one hot night, he’d destroy her engagement, take back the deal and walk away with all the memories he’d need. Good thing, because he’d never be able to get her out of his mind.

NT: Hi Bron! Thank you for interviewing with RRAH. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

BJ: My pleasure. I’m ever so chuffed to be here at Novel Thoughts for the first time. A little about me: I’m an Aussie wife, mother and farmer, who loves horses, reading, movies, reality TV and cruising blogs. In my spare time I write sensually rich romance for Silhouette Desire. Most of my 14 books to date have been set in Australia, and whether they’re more at home in a city suit or cattleman’s books my heroes are all tough guys with heart.

NT: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? How long did it take for you to make your first sale?

BJ: Growing up I didn’t know it was possible to make a career from writing (other than as a journalist, which I did work as for a time.) I started writing my first book on my 40th birthday, after reading a magazine article several months earlier on “how to be the next Barbara Cartland.” I didn’t want the pink ruffles, but I loved the idea of making up the kind of stories I loved to read. I fell in love with romance writing that first day but it took me 5 years to make the first sale.

NT: Is writing a full-time job for you or do you juggle another job?

BJ: See question one.

NT: You have TYCOON’S ONE-NIGHT REVENGE out this month. Tell us about it.

BJ: Tycoon’s One-Night Revenge tells the story of Susannah, who runs away on the eve of a very convenient marriage to Mr. Perfect after receiving a mysterious voicemail. Donovan Keane, a blast from her past, is threatening to expose the truth behind her “perfect” arrangement. Susannah and Van spent a torrid weekend together before he disappeared, leaving her hurt and vulnerable to this business merger marriage which will save her business…and also vulnerable to his accusations. When a wild storm traps Susannah and Van at a wilderness resort, she misses her own wedding and is forced to face the secrets of that previous weekend with Van.

NT: What inspired the idea for this book?

BJ: Two things. Firstly, Susannah was a secondary character in a previous book, The Ruthless Groom. I received a lot of mail asking for her story and I wanted to tell it, to give her side of the runaway bride’s story. Secondly, a friend’s son lost a piece of memory after an accident and I always thought that would be a cool element to use in a story. What if the missing memory included a night in a woman’s bed…and he had no recollection? (Not my friend’s son, I hasten to add, but my fictional character.) When I was working out why Susannah ran away and the “mystery man’s” story, the amnesia fit well. Not complete forget-everything amnesia, but a piece of time completely blacked out in Donovan’s memory.

NT: Which of your characters’ story was the hardest to write? Which was the easiest?

BJ: I don’t even have to think about this. Tycoon’s One-Night Revenge is the most difficult book I’ve ever written for a number of reasons, the major one being that I didn’t plan it while writing The Ruthless Groom. I had to write this story around the established events and timeline of that book, and turn Susannah into a heroine in her own book. A lesson learned: plan for sequels, don’t write them as afterthoughts!

By contrast the easiest was The Ruthless Groom, the third book in my Princes of the Outback trilogy. I wrote the 3 brothers’ books back-to-back and by the time I got to Alex’s book I knew the characters so well and the story I wanted to tell — it just flowed. Wish that happened more often!

NT: Do you have a writing routine? What is your average writing day like?

BJ: My routine is to potter around doing a bit here and a bit there before going into a complete panic when I realise I have to write three-quarters of a book in a couple of weeks. I wish I could be a five-page-a-day writer, every day — no, wait, I wish I were a twenty-page-a-day writer, every day — but it seems I need to work my way into a story, to get to know the characters and the essence of their story, before I can write strongly and ever more quickly toward the end.

NT: Is there any plot/setting/character that you’re dying to write but haven’t yet?

BJ: Always. It’s the next one, the one I’m not writing now, and it’s always a brilliant, enticing, shiny new geegaw that distracts me from my current story. Apart from that: I’d like to write a thriller one day, something taut and hot (the story, not the hero.)

NT: What aspects of your life have you found creeping into your stories?

BJ: Mostly that would be the insecurities of my heroines, the fact that they all have secret fears and vulnerabilities beneath the sophisticated or confident or capable veneers. I think a lot of readers relate to that — at least, I hope so. The other thing is my Australian settings, the colours and texture of the Australian way of life, and a bit of the language as well. Readers tell me that enjoy the little quirks of our language, things I don’t even notice when I’m writing.

NT: Is there anyone you use as a sounding board when you’re stuck on a scene?

BJ: I have a couple of very good brainstorming buddies — Yvonne Lindsay and Trish Morey — who I sometimes run a problem by. They’re a fab help; and sometimes just the process of articulating the problem leads to a solution.

NT: Who are some of the authors who inspired you when you were still working towards becoming published? Who are some of your favourite authors to read?

BJ: My inspirations when I started out where the fabulous Australian and New Zealand category romance authors who were (and still are!)huge on the international stage. Emma Darcy, Helen Bianchin, Miranda Lee, Susan Napier, Robyn Donald. They were proof that this was possible, even from this far corner of the world.

My favourites to read are those whose stories I lose myself in time after time: Linda Howard, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Barbara Samuel, Loretta Chase, Judith Ivory.

NT: What was the most interesting thing you had to research and what was the hardest thing to research?

BJ: Most interesting: the world of diamonds for the Diamonds Down Under continuity series (out now!) link: www.diamonds-downunder.com

Hardest: another continuity project, The Bought-And-Paid-For-Wife, not only because it’s set in moneyed, exclusive Connecticut (a long way from home in every sense) but also because of my character’s backstory which resonated on a personal level; it was difficult to research and VERY difficult to write about.

NT: What was the most memorable reader reaction you’ve received about your books?

BJ: I love every reader letter I receive; it’s hard to single out one. One that does stick in my mind, I think because it was very early in my career, was from a reader who wrote to tell me about arriving home after a particularly horrendous day at a job she hated. She found my book she’d won in a website contest in her mailbox. I’d gift-wrapped it prettily, included a couple of extra little things, and it was like a gift of sunshine on the grimmest day. I love that she was able to walk in her front door that evening with a smile on her face, and then she could lose herself in the fantasy world of my book.

NT: When not busy writing, what do you like to do in your spare time? (If there is such a thing *G*)

BJ: See first question.

NT: What are the latest additions to your TBR? What are you most eager to read?

BJ: I’ve just started Anne Gracie’s The Stolen Princess which I’m enjoying immensely. I’m looking forward to Anna Campbell’s Untouched and also to reading all the books in the Diamonds Down Under continuity. We came up with the original idea, plotted the continuity elements together, put the whole package together, and it’s going to be such fun to see how each book turned out.

NT: Any advice to aspiring authors? What craft books helped you that you would recommend to aspiring writers?

BJ: I suspect I have read half the craft books ever published, but I’m not going to recommend any because what worked for me may not work for the next person. What I will say to aspiring writers is, read the books, read the articles, listen to the workshops, and take from each what works for YOU. There is no rule that says you MUST do things a certain way; I say there are no rules, just tools. Find what works for you; what makes you a happy and confident writer. And I think the best tools are reading widely and voraciously (and reading actively, absorbing the magic but also identifying why the story and the characters work for you as a reader) and writing, writing, writing.

NT: What can your fans look forward to from you in the near future? What are you working on now?

BJ: For 2009 I have a pair of closely connected books, as yet untitled, that involve a sister swap, the wrong brother, a Cinderella makeover, a British billionaire with a James Bond voice and an Aston Martin, settings in Belgravia and Paris and the south of France, a wedding at a glorious country estate, polo and art and opera and shopping. The research was more fun than should be legal and I an now addicted to Tatler magazine! To make use of all my copies, I am thinking of extending the series with two spinoffs.

NT: How can readers contact you?

BJ: Via my website at www.bronwynjameson.com.

**Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of TYCOON’S ONE-NIGHT REVENGE!