Writing has always been like therapy for me. Any time I’ve had a problem, I’ve turned to journaling to help sort through my thoughts. As a teen, I wrote poems to express the things I grappled with on the road to figuring out where I belonged in the world. So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I returned to writing during a difficult time in my life.

At first it was a means of escape from the stress, but then it became something so much more. It became a way for me to sort through what really mattered and revealed a new road I needed to follow. Here I am three years later with four books written—book one never to see the light of day—a fifth book in the works, several short stories published in a magazine, and a novella recently released as part of an anthology, A Summons from the Duke (Regency Christmas Summons Collection 2).

Have you ever been drawn to a project but you had a thousand reasons why you couldn’t participate? That was me a few months ago. The writers in my critique group had an idea to create a collection of novellas that were connected while still being able to stand alone. The premise is the Duke of Danby has summoned his wayward grandchildren to Yorkshire for Christmas, and he has matchmaking on his mind. Each writer took a grandchild and told his or her story of falling in love.

The idea appealed to me, but I didn’t think I could pull it off. I was in the middle of revising my second book for Sourcebooks and finishing up a third book for a December deadline. I told my group I would love to be part of the anthology, but there just wasn’t time. But like an annoying tickle at the back of the throat, I couldn’t ignore the pull to be involved. As their ideas flew back and forth through email, one took root in my mind. I wrote the first scene in thirty minutes and I was hooked.

It’s interesting that this small project was what helped me define what I believe deep down is important. You’ll often hear authors talk about theme. Each book may have a separate idea, but over several books recurring themes will emerge. It wasn’t until I wrote my story “Twice Upon a Time” that I realized what my recurring themes are: Love me, love my family (which may or may not be connected by blood). Nothing is ever what it seems on the surface, so withhold judgment until you know the real person. And of course, love will prevail.

I think this may be the reason we as readers are drawn to certain authors or stories. Deep down we hold similar values and the stories tap into that fountain of meaning for us. My favorite stories seem to suggest this: I Know this Much is True by Wally Lamb, Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. All three stories are about imperfect families the protagonist loves anyway, discovering the truth about another, and love prevailing in the end.

What are your favorite stories, and do they have any common themes? (Today one commenter will win a copy of A Summons from the Duke, and everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into the Regency Christmas Summons Prize Extravaganza for a chance to win books, gift cards, and a Kindle. Please remember to include your email address to enter the drawing. Winners will be announced December 15th.)

Excerpt set up:
Julian Beckford, grandson to Duke of Danby, is up to his top-boots in one of his cousin’s mad schemes only days after his return to England. Baron Penlow wants to engage an actress to play his wife over the holidays at Danby Castle, and he has asked for Julian’s assistance in casting the role. Here’s a sneak peek at their evening…

Excerpt:
Julian nodded. “She’s the one.”

He would never trust his judgment again. He’d chosen a wildcat.

Samantha loves to hear from readers. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. To learn more about Samantha’s books and appearances, you may visit her website.

This past Tuesday I had the opportunity–nay, the pleasure–of watching A Michael Bublé Christmas. To be honest, the show itself wasn’t that impressive. But I didn’t turn the TV on to watch the show. No, I turned it on to watch (and listen to!) Mr. Michael Bublé. And that’s it. For research. For a hero I want to write about…sometime down the road… It’s true, I swear.

Now, if you’ve never heard of Michael Bublé before, please don’t be worried–I forgive you. With our hectic lives and all the media screaming at you for attention, it’s easy to miss pieces of awesomeness. However, I would be remiss in my duty as a romance writer–nay, in my duty as a woman–were I not to share the goodness that is Michael Bublé with you.

Please note: I am not in any way related to (he has a gorgeous Argentinian wife–*sigh*) Michael Bublé (you can’t just say Michael; he’s a first name and last name sort of guy), nor am I getting paid for my gushing (I wish!).

First, a few pictures. (I don’t know what you’re doing looking at these, but as I said, I’m doing research. )

I think I’d like this one made into my own personal romance novel cover.

Here he’s telling me you not to be shy. He’d like a hug.

And now he’s looking soulfully into my your eyes, torn because he just can’t express how much he adores me you.

But wait! At this point you might be thinking to yourself: “I guess he’s alright looking. I’m not that impressed.” If you have a crush on Richard Armitage like I do, you probably thought the same of him before you watched the BBC’s North & South and heard his voice (please tell me you’ve done this!). Well, my friends, prepare to fall in love while you watch this very short video.

Link to YouTube

I admit, I did have to watch several videos to find just the right one for you guys–one where you could hear his speaking voice and his singing voice. And in case you were wondering…yes, it was a hardship.

Now that you’ve been treated to a little Michael Bublé to get your weekend started off right, what do you think? Were you already a fan? A new fan? Shall we all go to his next concert together?

A few weeks ago, a blogger asked the Jaunty Quills to participate in an event where authors shared a favorite book they were reading. I wanted to participate in the worst way, but I’d just finished a deadline for a Special Edition continuity, which went quickly into edits and by the time I contacted the blogger, the calendar for that event was full.  I was so disappointed because I happened to be reading UNTIL THERE WAS YOU, by our very own Kristan Higgins, and I was looking forward to dishing about this book because it’s so darn wonderful!

Kristan first hooked me with her Rita winner CATCH OF THE DAY. That was shortly before we became Jaunty Quill sisters. Since then, I’ve devoured every single one of her books. Needless to say, I was counting the days until I could get my hands on UNTIL THERE WAS YOU.

What a treat! In vintage Kristan style, she had me laughing out loud, rooting for quirky, loveable Cordelia “Posey” Osterhagen and drooling over misunderstood bad boy Liam Murphy. I’m a sucker for a reunion story – especially when it goes to the tune of girl falls for boy, boy barely realizes girl exists; boy and girl grow into man and woman and finally get it right.   However, even after widowed father Liam brings his teenage daughter home to the town where he grew up, he and Posey still have a lot of baggage to unload and roadblocks to break through…baggage in the form of a terrible misunderstanding at the prom that left Posey brokenhearted and roadblocks in the form of Posey’s buxom, quasi-celebrity cousin who always seems to be in the way.

It makes me smile even thinking about  the book.  It also has me thinking… We all have at least one “Liam” lurking in our past (even if it didn’t lead to a happily ever after).  Tell me about your “Liam.” Did you ever see him again? Did it end up working out or did it remain a case of unrequited love/lust?  I will choose one lucky winner from those who post to receive a copy of Kristan’s UNTIL THERE WAS YOU so you, too, can get lost in this fabulous book.

There’s lots of shopping going on right now. I, like Jan, lost my ever-loving mind and did Black Friday shopping this year (NEVER AGAIN!!!). My crazy sister (who does it every year and loves it!) talked me in to it and while I enjoyed the camaraderie and I did get some good deals, I honestly don’t think the savings were worth the effort. But Black Friday is not really what I want to talk about today…

I want to talk about the art of gift-giving, well and receiving. I consider myself to be a thoughtful gift-giver, though there are always a few people on my list that make that nearly impossible. But I learned early, probably because my mom has made gift-giving an art form, that the most important thing to do when giving someone a present was to consider that person’s likes and to be creative. Now as I said there are those that make that impossible. There were several Christmases where my brother insisted on only receiving gift cards. You know the thing about gift cards is, they’re great to receive, I love receiving them, but I hate to give them. They’re boring and seem so thoughtless.

But I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, for some odd reason. I tend to like to, as we call it in my family, “go rogue” on gifts. Try to come up with something that isn’t on someone’s list, something they perhaps didn’t know they wanted or just forgot they’d seen and liked. It’s kind of a sickness, you know that moment where someone is opening your gift and you just know what you’ve given them is going to be their favorite. You get bonus points if you make them cry. Ask Emily, she’s been victim to my evil plans.

Is that really the best way to do things though? Yes, it’s always nice to be thoughtful and creative. But isn’t it also nice to give someone something they’ve asked for? We do this for our children, it makes sense to do the same for the rest of our loved ones. I’ve acknowledged that feeding my own reaction should not be my primary motivation in selecting a gift. But hey, making someone happy, that’s not an all-bad goal, right?

So how about you? What kind of a gift giver are you? Go by the list or are you a while gun? What about receiving? Do you prefer to get something you didn’t know you wanted, but love nonetheless or would you prefer something you’ve asked for?

 When my kids were little I used to dream about having time to myself. Not that I didn’t adore them, but I had three of the little angels in four years, so I was pretty overwhelmed at times (yes, that’s them on the right) – plus, I always worked at least part time as a critical care nurse. I couldn’t have defined spare time if my life depended on it..

Everyone is pressed for time these days, whether it’s because of little kids who demand our time and attention, or jobs, maybe elderly or ill parents. Or even all of the above. So I thought I’d share some of the things I’d dream about when there was no spare time on the horizon, and I hope you’ll share yours.

1. A long, hot shower. A good 30 minutes in there with no one knocking at the door shouting “Mom!”

2. A special evening out with my husband and then spending the night in a hotel room afterwards, with the kids at their grandparents’.

3. An afternoon in sweats and slippers watching old movies on TV. Like Little Women, Casablanca, Gigi, Rebecca, It Happened One Night – you get the idea, right?

 4. An afternoon in sweats and slippers watching SCARY movies on TV. Now I have one son who loves to do the same with me – it’s fun! We critique the whole thing while we watch, unless we get totally engrossed (no, not grossed out).

5. An autumn walk in the country with the dogs, letting them run their hearts out and not have to worry about getting home to get dinner ready or get to a ‘kid” event.

 6. A weekend away with my sister (whose 3 kids are the same ages as mine) to a cute little town 100 miles from home where we can spend the weekend doing girl stuff.

 7. A whole day to read a book in its entirety – cover to cover.

 Now you – what do you dream about doing if you had some spare time? I hope you’ll take some time to read one of my new releases, either Brazen or Brash!

I did something this year I swore I wouldn’t do again. I hit the stores Thanksgiving night for the pre-Black Friday (Black Thursday) sales.

Oh. My. God. If you are short (like moi) you’d better go in prepared to fight for what you want. I used to think they called it Black Friday because the stores made their years profit that day. Ha! They call it that because the shoppers are bruised when it’s over.

The seemingly sane people you’ve been conversing with for hours while you wait will turn into fang bearing creatures with a hunger for the thirty (or less or more) items up for the huge sale. However I am proud to say I was determined and stood my ground (thanks to the help of one brave soldier who gave me a hand, as in pulling me out of the bottom of the pile with arms laden with stuff.)

Will I do it again? Uh, no.

But then I’ve said those words before. What about you? Did you power shop on the mega sale weekend? Fight the crowds or play it sane and order it all online?

Congratulations to Cate S. and Cathy P. !

I’ve already contacted them — but Cathy and Cate, if you haven’t read your email lately, contact me! MargoMaguire@yahoo.com

Thanks to everyone for your comments. There were lots of hero-heroine scenarios I’d forgotten about. Now that my deadline is met and I’m taking a few weeks off, I plan to spend a lot of time reading and getting up to date on all those great scenarios…

Thank you to Cindy Kirk for inviting me to hang out with the Jaunty Quills! I’m a little starstruck at the moment, but just give me a minute …
OK, I’m fine now.
In case you don’t already know, I head up the new romance novels blog at USA Today called Happy Ever After (I hope you’ll check it out!). I’ve been blogging at HEA for only about two months, and as my brain becomes more and more consumed by all things romance, I’ve realized that I can mark some of the major events in my life by what romance novel made a big impression on me at the time. Here are three of those life-defining books for me:

No. 1: Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
Life-changing event: Finding the fictional niche that would shape my life and career.
I was always a voracious reader, even going so far as to actually enjoy many of the books I had to read for English class as a kid. But something changed in my head when I read my first romance novel, and I was hooked. And THEN I read Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, and I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach. You know the one: At first you might think you just want a brownie, but it’s actually a fierce longing for this couple to get together. I loved that feeling. Alaina’s strength and Cole’s unwavering belief in her in that book epitomize, for me, what makes romance novels so satisfying. Not even a bitter, polarizing war could keep them apart. Love really does conquer all. Sigh. This book made such an impression on me that I even used the name Alaina for the heroine in my third book, Found Wanting. I also used “Cole” as a hero’s name in an as-yet-unpublished novel.

No. 2: This Calder Sky by Janet Daily
Life-changing event: Realizing I’d fallen in love
I was reading This Calder Sky when I realized for the first time that I was in love. I was in high school at the time and it was the ’80s, meaning I was a virtual kindergartner in the love department compared with today’s teens. But about halfway through the book, the light bulb above my head blinked on. I had something in common with this heroine: A member of the opposite sex was driving me crazy. Not with lust – I was only 14. OK, maybe there was a little lust (hormones, you know). But the point is that the jumble of feelings in my head suddenly made sense: I was in love. Maybe I was a little slow on the uptake, considering all the romances I’d read by then, but there you go.

No. 3: Hot Ice by Nora Roberts
Life-changing event: Discovering that my genre as a writer was romantic suspense
I was already writing romantic suspense by the time I read Hot Ice. I just didn’t know it. Seems unbelievable that I was writing in a genre I didn’t even realize existed, but, hey, the Internet wasn’t all that handy in 1987. At any rate, I’d been writing romantic suspense novels for at least four years by then but hadn’t read any (that I can remember), other than Gothics about the big scary house and suspicious hero whose point of view wasn’t included. I’d read lots of suspense written by men, especially Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Sidney Sheldon. The difference, for me, was that my books had a much greater emphasis on the romance than on the suspense. Then I picked up Hot Ice, and everything clicked. I’m sure there were plenty of other romantic suspense novels out long before Hot Ice, but that was my first – and the one that set me on the path to becoming a published romantic suspense novelist.

So, because of Hot Ice, I’ll be celebrating the release Tuesday of my seventh romantic suspense, True Shot. It’s the third in my True trilogy (and my favorite!). I hope you’ll get a chance to check it out. Two readers who comment below by Wednesday, Dec. 7, will win a signed copy. (International readers welcome!)
Here’s a question to get the ball rolling: Is there a romance novel that you associate with a life-changing event in your life?
You can find me (and an excerpt of True Shot) at JoyceWrites.com, happyeverafter.usatoday.com, Facebook.com\AuthorJoyceLamb and @JoyceLamb on Twitter.
Thanks for stopping by!

So I know it’s December, and I’m supposed to blog about holiday-ish things. Something about shopping or materialism or traditions or new traditions or decorations or austerity. But I can’t stop thinking about pirates.

Pirates have nothing to do with Christmas, but they have a lot to do with my next book, The Rogue Pirate’s Bride, which will be in stores on February 7. I thought I might tell you a little about this book in case you get everything you want for Christmas and are looking for things to put on your Valentine’s Day list.

Revenge should be sweet, but it may cost him everything…
The Marquis de Valère escaped certain death in the French Revolution and is now an infamous privateer. Out to avenge the death of his mentor, Bastien discovers himself astonishingly out of his depth when confronted with a beautiful, daring young woman who is out for his blood…

Forgiveness is unthinkable, but it may be her only hope…
British Admiral’s daughter Raeven Russell believes Bastien responsible for her fiancé’s death. But once the fiery beauty crosses swords with Bastien, she’s not so sure she really wants him to change his wicked ways…

Interested yet? Okay, how about some early reviews?

“Readers seeking wildly exciting escapades, nonstop action, rapier-sharp repartee and a heated romance need look no further.”
—Kathe Robin, RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars, Top Pick!

“The highborn swashbuckling hero and the resourceful, fearless admiral’s daughter make an unusual, intriguing couple, and steamy romance heats up the pages.”
—Publishers Weekly

“…a fast-paced, swashbuckling tale of piracy, dangerous scheming, and intrigue. You’ll love the predicaments Raeven gets into and her inventive ways of getting out of them. Don’t miss this historic treat. It’s one you can’t put down.”
—Viki Ferrell, Fresh Fiction

Still on the fence? Maybe you’d like to win an advance copy. I’m giving one away to one lucky member of my mailing list the first week of January, so if you haven’t joined my list join today.

Oh, and happy holidays!

Thanks to Kristan for inviting me to the Sisterhood today. It’s great to be here.

December is a big month for me.  After writing 30 books for Harlequin, my first mainstream novel BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is releasing into the big, wide world.

I love the colour, the vibrancy, the magic of Bollywood so what better way to indulge my interest than write a contemporary romance/romantic comedy/chicklit/women’s fiction novel.  With Bollywood as the star!

However, there’s another character in the book to rival Bollywood for billing…and that’s the food.

Indian food is sublime and I’ve layered as much spicy richness into the story as possible.

I’d like to share a little bit of that with you. Here’s my BOLLY-BITE for today:

LASSI

(a refreshing yoghurt drink, perfect for cooling down your mouth after a chilli-hot curry.)

INGREDIENTS:

500g yoghurt

1 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

Few drops rosewater

Few ice cubes

METHOD:

Combine all the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Pour in tall glasses and serve.

HINTS:

You can increase or decrease the water according to the desired thickness. In summer, I like this as a cooling drink but if you prefer it thicker, decrease the water.

Rosewater is a strong taste so experiment to your liking.

Mango lassi is delicious: fresh is best but mango puree or mango in tins can add a lush sweetness to this drink.

(If you’re interested in more Indian recipes, I’ll be posting dishes taken from the book over the next few weeks on my blog tour. I’d love to have everyone cook up a storm alongside me!)

If you could master one exotic dish to wow your friends at a dinner party, what would that dish be?

Leave a comment to be in the running to win an E-book of BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD.

USA TODAY bestseller Nicola Marsh has written 30 books for Harlequin Romance & Presents series, and BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is her first mainstream contemporary romance. Think ‘Sex and the City’ meets ‘Eat, Pray, Love’.

Her other current release is INTERVIEW WITH THE DAREDEVIL (Harlequin Riva).

She loves chatting with readers and can be found on her website http://www.nicolamarsh.com blog http://nicolamarsh.blogspot.com Facebook http://facebook.com/NicolaMarshAuthor Twitter http://twitter.com/NicolaMarsh