I remember Joanna Bourne first was mentioned to me last summer at the RWA convention in Dallas. I was told that this is an author to watch. Unfortunately the books weren’t going to be released until January so in googling, I found that Bourne had written a book, Her Ladyship’s Companion, a gothic [...]

Mariah Stewart has penned over nineteen novels, been on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. She’s been a RITA finalist, received the Award of Excellence for contemporary romance and was recently inducted into the New Jersey Romance Writers Hall of Fame. I think I’ve read at least half of Stewart’s [...]

I still remember, vividly, the first time I picked up a JR Ward book. It was in my mall Waldenbooks store. I was just browsing along the aisles when I saw this glossy red cover with a black dagger in the middle. The cover said that it was “A Novel of the [...]

Rachel Gibson’s first book was Simply Irresistible, a secret baby romance, which featured a “charm school graduate and Southern belle extraordinaire” who runs away from being a trophy wife, has a one night stand, and goes on to build an empire (a small one, but still). I knew then that Gibson marched to [...]

I’m reposting this because I stupidly miscommunicated with someone about this date and the first sale series and so I’ve got nothing. But given the fact that I think Loretta Chase’s Your Scandalous Ways is one of the best romances I’ll read this year, I thought I’d pull it up again and pimp her [...]

Kathryn Shay wrote her first romance at fifteen but it wasn’t until years later that she sold her first book to Harlequin. She has written and published over twenty-nine books since her first sale. When she isn’t writing, Shay spends time doing her other favorite vocation–teaching. Her latest publication, Taking the [...]

I first heard of C.E. Murphy when Luna publishing put out Urban Shaman. It was an intriguing (and actually not very romantic which is a huge deal for me) urban fantasy. Over time (cough 3 years cough), Murphy has penned 10 novels and now has a million words in print. Born in Alaska [...]

Lisa Jackson is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author and she, just like every other author, has a first sale story because every bestselling career has to start somewhere. Lisa’s started at the urging of her sister and she’s been successfully killing people every since. Her last release was “Lost Souls” published [...]

When Lois McMaster Bujold agreed to write a first sale letter for the blog, I almost fainted with delight. I started reading Ms. Bujold at the beginning of her Sharing Knife series despite hearing about how fantastic her Miles Vorkosigan/Naismith series. I was intimidated by the size of that backlist even though I [...]

Julie Leto is constantly honing her craft to be a better writer, so much so that her group blog is called the Plot Monkeys.  She’s had her writing ups and downs but Leto is a survivor, as any girl raised with three brothers would learn to be.  She’s on the high point now with a [...]

Roxanne St. Claire first came to my attention from a friend of mine who thought I would enjoy her new BulletCatcher series. My friend was right. The BulletCatcher series is “an elite group of security and protection [...]

LA Banks is the New York Times Bestselling author the very popular Vampire Huntress series. She was awarded the Essence inaugural Storyteller of the Year award in 2007. Banks started writing urban fantasy featuring a kick ass female long before it was the popular sub genre du jour. She’s now only a [...]

Meredith Duran’s first sale might be known already. She won the first Gathers.com/Borders/Simon & Schuster romance writing contest. 500 manuscripts were submitted and Duran’s was the cream that rose to the top. Her winning novel, Duke of Shadows, is in stores now.
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Back in third grade, Mr. Butzen wrote a mysterious word [...]

Sherry Thomas came to my attention last year when the buzz began about her remarkable debut novel. I had the pleasure of meeting her at RWA in Dallas. Her writing is big and exuberant and I find her a welcome addition to our romance genre family. I hope you all check her out [...]

Jordan Dane is a debut author whose first book is out on March 25. This is no ordinary debut, however, because Avon has decided to give Dane the back to back to back release treatment. March 25th is the first of Dane’s gritty three 2008 romantic suspense releases. It only took her [...]

Laura Joh Rowland is the well known author of a bestselling series featuring a samurai detective in 17th C Japan. (I know! I asked myself why I wasn’t reading this series too.) But her creative juices started wandering after the eleventh Sano Ichiro book. Rowland decided to switch time periods and [...]

Celeste Bradley has been a series girl from the start. Her first series, Liars Club, was published by St. Martin’s Press. Since that time, she has written 11 books. Her most recent series is a trilogy called “The Heiress Brides!” Desperately [...]

Catherine Delors has a unique story that the readers haven’t heard before. Delors’ first language is French but her first published novel is in English. How hard must that be? Delors graduated from the University of Paris-Sorbonne School of Law, became a member of the Bar of Paris at 21, got married, [...]

Jo Barrett wrote the attention grabbing book entitled, Men’s Guide to the Women’s Bathroom, and followed it up with This Is How It Happened (not a love story). Aren’t those great titles? Ms. Barrett’s stories, though, are love stories. Or at least have love in them. Or are written with love. [...]

Jill Monroe made several abortive attempts to write but didn’t get serious until she joined the RWA and began studying the craft with the Oklahoma Romance Writers chapter. She wrote eight books during that time and claims that two are unpublishable. She was a finalist in the Golden Heart and came to the [...]

Romantic suspense author, Amy J Fetzer, isn’t at a loss for words being the wife and mother of Marines but it wasn’t until she was 30 that she put those words on paper. As her story below relates, it took her three years to write her first book which she never published (and from [...]

I admit that I never read Shana Abé before the drákon series. Once I had read the Smoke Thief (which is book 1 of the series, the most recent being Abe’s hardcover debut, Queen of Dragons), I had become a hopeless addict. Abe’s blend of history, romance and fantasy was triumphant and exciting. [...]

How many authors have a book with the gorgeous Cate Blanchett looking queenly with the words “Woman Warrior Queen?” None other than the equally gorgeous Tasha Alexander whose first love was Little House on the Prairie books. Alexander says in her bio that she became “an English major in order to have a [...]

Jennifer Donnelly is a multi decorated author of the fiction books, A Northern Light , The Tea Rose, and her most recent release, The Winter Rose which is the second book in the Tea Rose trilogy. Her books are set in intriguing time periods (early 20th C) and feature strong, dynamic [...]

Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood. Book 2 has a fantastic romance. I was thrilled when Briggs began writing urban fantasy, one of my current favorite sub genres. The Mercy Thompson series has grown better with each successive book. I’m not the only one who feels that way. Her current release, Iron [...]

According to the bio, Patrice Michelle is “a natural with a point-and-shoot camera, likes to fiddle with graphic design and, to the relief of her family, strums her guitar to an audience of one.” To those members of the online romance reading community, we know Patrice to be a straight shooter and all around [...]

When Lori Devoti earned her Bachelor in Journalism, it wasn’t to write, but to work in advertising. Twenty years later, Devoti finds herself writing long copy in the form of novels, contemporary, dark paranormal romances and urban fantasy novels “with a little death and a lot of adventure.” She has three books under [...]

Gennita Low’s road to publishing is a bit different than the average romance writer. Her nine to five job is spent hammering down shingles under the hot Florida sun. This gives her time to plot and plan for her Virtually series and future books. She was a three-time finalist in the RWA [...]

Kresley Cole is one of my favorite authors because her emphasis is on strong heroines. In both her historical series, the McCarrick Brothers Trilogy, and her paranormals, The Immortal After Dark series, the stories revolve around strong, independent heroines matching wits and sometimes, swords, with the heroes.
I had the opportunity to meet Ms. Cole [...]

Jennifer Apodaca writes murder mysteries with a romantic twist. Her current offering, Extremely Hot, is in bookstores now. Apodaca claims that the traffic in Southern California “affords her plenty of time to plot murder and hot romance.”
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My brother and sister sometimes call me a bulldog. Flattering, huh? I’m hoping they don’t mean that [...]