Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

We are starting a new series called “If You Like” which will be hosted by various readers, authors and bloggers of Dear Author. The purpose of the post and the comments is to explore what we like about a particular iconic author and what other authors have books like the iconic author. Today’s feature is brought to you by one of my favorite people, Jill Myles. Jill was my long suffering roommate at RWA in San Francisco. She is also an up and coming author with her first story to be released in January 2010. (I know, so far away). We’ll be shamelessly pimping her in a year or so. Until such time, enjoy her account of the wonderful books that Julie Garwood contributed to our romance community.

If you would like to host an “If You Like” post, please email me at Jane at dearauthor.com
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If You Like…Julie Garwood

For as long as I can remember, Julie Garwood’s historical romances have been on my re-read shelf. I have a lengthy list of enjoyable authors, but no one captures my heart quite like Julie Garwood does. About once a year, I …

Dear Ms. Garwood:

Your return to the historical genre has been the subject of romance readers discussions for months now. I would have loved to have written “welcome back” but I can see we have some growth pains here. While some of the classic Garwood moments have returned, there were also some painful speed bumps along the reading road.

Princess Gabrielle of St. Biel has been betrothed to Lord Monroe, a Scottish Highlander, in order for King John to pacify and shore up the borders to the North. Gabrielle is greatly desired. She hunts, shoots, and rides like a man. She has been trained in all the feminine arts and she is uber beautiful. But super nice. Because someone who is super rich, talented in everything, and gorgeous always has zero ego.

Despite being from a small country called St. Biel, formerly known as Monchanceux, which is somewhere in the Middle East, Gabrielle is pure anglo saxon with violet eyes and softly curling black hair and pure creamy skin. (Sounds Welsh to me). I just couldn’t figure out why a) St. Biel had a French origin, …

Dear Jayne:

My dear blogging partner, you may not be aware of this, since you are not a Garwood lover like me, but her first historical in approximately 7 years is to be released in just a couple of months. It has prompted me to do a bit of re-reading of some older Garwood releases.

I started with The Secret and I tried to look at it with a critical eye. I know that the complaint some level toward her books is that they lack a certain historical realism. It reads authentically to me. They wear plaids which I didn’t realize until lately wasn’t recorded as Highlander attire until about 1560. This book is set in 1181. But I swear that there isn’t any faux Highlander dialect. Okay, maybe a lass or five here and there, but no dinnae’s and couldnae’s.

Fortunately for me, though, I can overlook the historical missteps and appreciate “The Secret” for the story.

Lady Judith Hampton, an English girl, and Frances Catherine Kirkcaldy, a Lowlander Scottish girl, met when they were four and began a lifelong friendship that withstood …

Julie Garwood is returning to her roots and releasing a new medieval, Shadow Music, in late December of 2007. It’s hardcover with a retail price tag of $25.95. On her website * (that is almost impossible to navigate), she spills that the hero is “Colm MacHugh, a ‘close ally to the Buchanas’ and both Brodick and Colm share a dislike for the MacKenna clan, especially when it comes to the future of a beautiful woman named Gabrielle. ”

I love Garwood’s historicals and recall reading The Bride so often that the binding gave out and the cover fell off.

* For the love of all that is good on the internet, authors, please do away with your affection for the flash dominated sites.

I haven’t read Tarr’s first blaze. I wonder if it was any good.
Hope Tarr’s ROMANCING BECKY STONE, to Brenda Chin at Harlequin Blaze, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in late 2007.

I wondered if Garwood was going to publish her historicals out of a different house. Now I wonder if these will all be hardcovers. Sigh. This is definitely a wait and see for me.
NYT bestselling author Julie Garwood’s three more novels, beginning with an historical novel set in Scotland, again to Linda Marrow at Ballantine, by Andrea Cirillo of the Jane Rotrosen Agency (NA).

I can’t wait to see this film, but I am pretty sure that Happiness in the title is spelled with a “Y”.
Japanese rights to Chris Gardner’s THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, to Kaoru Nishida at Aspect, with Miko Yamanouchi at Japan UNI Agency representing Amistad.

I haven’t read Jeffries. Amazing that the regency romance still sells.
NYT bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries three new Regency romances in her School for Heiresses series, to Micki Nuding at Pocket, in a significant deal, by Pam Ahearn (World).

Dear Ms. Garwood:

I want you to know that I open myself up to ridicule from any number of blogland sources such as my blogging partners, Jayne and Janine, Keishon, Maili, and who knows else by writing this love letter to you. Alas, I cannot let this week of thankfulness pass by without referencing at least one of your books that I have read so much that is poor cover fell off. So I am hiding this review on Thanksgiving where I can be quietly be thankful for this book whilst the rest of the US blogland is sleepy from gorging on turkey and mashed potatoes. (As an aside, the Thanksgiving episode where Jerry plays with the mint boxed Superman whilst girlfriend is drugged upon Trytophan is hilarious).

This was one of the first of your books that I had ever read and the opening scene is unforgettable.

They meant to kill him.

Baron Duncan of Wexton land is standing naked, tied to the pole in the bitter winter. Even at his seemingly weakest moment, his enemies still fear him. They stand a weapon’s length away to spit at his feet …