Last June my son, Travis, or Son One as I call him (some of you might remember him as RT’s Mr. Romance runner-up from a few years back–tee hee–you cannot imagine how fun it is to tease him about that) got married to a gorgeous young woman from Cameroon. Gorgeous young woman, as it happens, has an equally gorgeous son, who I will hereby refer to Grandson One or G-1. Anywhoo, a few months ago I pried my wallet open and took G-1 to see Untangled. You know the film-spunky heroine, sexy hero, opinionated horse, lots of hair. It was a fun flick and just about right for a six year old…or a romance writer…since it was basically a love story.

So after the credits were rolling away and the popcorn salt had been licked from every finger I turned to G-1 and asked what his favorite part of the movie was. Now remember…he’s a boy…he’s six…he’s being raised by macho 6’3” Son One. So what do you think his answer was? Anybody? No?

Well I’ll tell you…he didn’t pause, didn’t bat an eyelash, didn’t take time to breathe. He just said, “When they kissed.” Huh? I did a double take, did another take, then stared at him agog, because when he asked what my favorite part was I had to tell him the truth; It was when spunky heroine hit sexy hero with the frying pan…which by the by was quite often. I don’t know if you remember the film, but sexy hero spent about half the movie catatonic and I was more thrilled each time cast iron met skull.

So (note clever segue here) when I began writing Uncorked, my 7th Chrissy McMullen mystery, I wasn’t exactly sure how to begin. I mean, Chrissy is one of my favorite people in the entire solar system and she really deserves to be happy. She really deserves to be happy with the guy who makes her crazy…Lieutenant Jack Rivera. But where’s the fun in that? I mean…you can’t start out all cozy right? Where you gonna go from there?

With that thought in mind, I opened the book with a knock down drag out fight. In fact, in chapter one, Chrissy’s dating another guy. Granted, she can rarely remember Other Guy’s name when Rivera is within shouting distance, but she assures the good lieutenant that‘s she‘s crazy about…about…what’s his face. It made for tons of sexual tension. And if there’s anything I like better than seeing a guy hit in the head with a frying pan, it’s sexual tension.

So what about you? What’s your favorite part of a romance, the fighting or the flirting? Or do you need both to make it work?

To celebrate the online release of Uncorked, my 7th Chrissy McMullen novel, I’m giving away a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings to one much appreciated commenter.

Visit Lois’s website for news and information on her newest release, and a chance to win an Amazon gift card and be sure to check out Uncorked! You can follow Lois on Facebook and keep track of the Chrissy McMullen series here. Follow LoisGreiman on Twitter, too!

Sir Justin Fiebvre

My daughter has a terrible case of Bieber Fever. Just in case the details of this notable illness have passed you by, here are the symptoms:

1)    Her room is painted in three shades of purple, since that is Justin Bieber’s favorite color.

2)    There are three bulletin boards over her sofa, all covered with pictures of Justin torn out of Tiger Beat, occasionally with his beloved, Selena Gomez, and in one notable example, bare-chested (my husband disapproves of this one).

3)    To the right of the bulletin boards is a full-length concert poster of the Bieb.

4)    To the left of the bulletin boards is a black-and-white canvas close-up of…yes! Justin’s face.

5)    Over her desk?  A quote in vinyl lettering from one of his songs (it took her father and me a full hour to figure out how to transfer the letters to the wall).

Have I forgotten anything?

Well, there is the Justin nail polish (not that she uses it), and the Justin toothbrush, and the Justin singing doll…

Now you know why Sir Justin Fiebvre appears in The Duke is Mine:  because if your beloved daughter spends approximately 20 out of 24 hours of the day talking about Justin, at some point a writer has no recourse but to stick the fellow in a book.  He wears purple velvet, in case you’re wondering… and all the girls scream when he sings.  I think he’s going to be a literary hit;  Julia Quinn wrote me and said that he was her favorite character in the book (Sorry, Olivia and Quin!).

So if you could take any star from pop culture and shape him into a character in a romance, who would it be? Eloisa will be giving away a signed copy of When Beauty Tamed the Beast to two lucky commenters.

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa’s very first book that she “found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar”; later People Magazine raved that “romance writing does not get much better than this.” Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists.

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

Oh, hello there! Yes, it’s me, ***********. The new Jaunty in town. And in case you’re wondering, that IS the exact right number of asterisks for my first and last name. Now all you have to do is figure out how many asterisks go where. And figure out the letters, too. But that shouldn’t be too hard. *grins* You guys are romance readers, after all. Intelligent people, we romance readers and writers are.

I have to tell you, I’m so honored and excited to be invited to become the newest member of the Jaunty Quills! And I’m equally as excited to get to know the Jaunty readers, too!

But first, here’s a chance for you to get to know a little more about me.

1. I love all sorts of music. But my favorites are: Frank Sinatra, Sara Bareilles, the Foo Fighters, Jim Croce, Pavarotti, Blessid Union of Souls, Hootie & The Blowfish, Taylor Swift, Michael Buble, Jason Mraz, and Louis Armstrong.
2. As you can see from above, I tend to lean more toward the unusual and the oldies. Maybe this is why my first love will always be to read and write love stories of the past.
3.  I’m from Texas! (emphasis on “from”) This means no other state will ever have good Mexican food or understand the truth that Blue Bell ice cream is the best ice cream in the world. I’ll never be able to completely stop saying “y’all”, “fixin’ to”, or end my sentences with “ma’am” and “sir.” It also means that I have relatives that may or may not be hicks—that depends on whether we’re talking about my cousin who dresses in overalls, owns twenty hounds, and likes to go hog hunting or raccoon hunting for fun.
4. I’m married. I have children. I have a dog. All of this means that I never get enough sleep and the first thing I want to do when I win the lottery is hire a maid because my house is never clean enough!
5. I’m a sucker for romantic comedies and war movies. Yup, I’m a woman of interesting contrasts. My favorite war movies include HBO’s Band of Brothers, Men of Honor, and Defiance. My favorite romantic comedies include Two Weeks’ Notice, Love, Actually,  You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, Sabrina, and 27 Dresses.
6. I was born in April, but I have another favorite month of the year during which I go a little mad.
7. I’ve wanted to own a motorcycle and marry a man who rides a motorcycle ever since seeing Top Gun and falling in love with Maverick when I was a child. (Note: Of course, the man I marred is convinced he would die if he ever got on a motorcycle.)
8. I own bookcases filled with nothing but books on studying other languages.
9. I like to write about duchesses and countesses, but I also like to write about commoners, too.
10. One of my favorite books when I was little was Little Women, although I bawled when Laurie didn’t end up with Jo. (Coincidentally, I have plans one day to write a heroine named Jo Laurie.)

Now it’s time to play The Guess the Jaunty contest!

As a reminder, here’s how it works.  I will blog periodically in September, giving you hints as to who I am. Each time I blog, you guys can post a comment guessing my identity.

Everyone who guesses will be entered to win a gift certificate for $50 to Amazon.com. Those who guess correctly will also be entered to win a signed copy of a book from each of us (that’s 12 signed books!). In the unlikely event that no one guesses correctly, the first person who is randomly chosen from our secret Jaunty Quill’s posts will win and get to choose her prize.

My name and the winners’ names will be revealed on Sunday, October 2nd. So visit us all through the month of September, and don’t forget to comment on all of my Guess the Jaunty blogs to enter the contest!

Good luck, and I’ll see you around the blog soon!

What do match.com, speed dating and reality TV have in common with Regency England? On the surface, nothing. But one night while watching The Bachelor, a bizarre idea for a historical romance popped into my head: The Bachelor in Regency England (minus the hot tub and camera crew).

While writing HOW TO MARRY A DUKE, I didn’t stop to consider that if I sold the manuscript I’d have to propose follow-up books with premises that aligned with the first one. That’s because I assumed the manuscript would never sell. After all, it was only the second book that I’d written. So, after I signed with an agent, I found out I needed to come up with short sketches for additional books that had something in common with the first one. So I brainstormed with my agent, and one of those ideas forms the basis of my second book HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL, which is out on June 28th. Here’s the back cover copy:

SCOUNDRELS, RAKES, AND ROGUES BEWARE . . .

Lady Julianne Gatewick is in a pickle. It started when her brother’s best friend—for whom she’s long nursed a secret tendre—agreed to act as her guardian for the Season, only to seduce her with a risqué waltz.

But when the music stopped and the expectant ton waited for the Earl of Hawkfield to claim her as his own, he made his disinterest clear. Rather than succumb to humiliation, Julianne does what any recently discarded, wickedly witty young miss would do. She secretly pens a lady’s guide to enticing unrepentant rakes . . . and it becomes the hottest scandal in London.

Every honorable rake knows that friends’ sisters are forbidden. But suddenly Julianne has a spark of mischief in her eyes that Hawk can’t resist. Try as he might to push her away, he spends his days listening for her laughter and his nights dreaming of her kisses. He’s always avoided innocents and their marriage-minded mothers, but has the man least likely to wed finally met his match?

ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR

Yes, my heroine Julianne writes an anonymous advice pamphlet for single young ladies who are frustrated with all those determined bachelors. Hawk has no idea that she’s writing a scandalous publication called The Secrets of Seduction, a Regency-version of The Rules. But there’s a twist. When Julianne finds trouble, he comes up with his own set of rules for her to follow. Naturally, she ignores his No Flirting rule, but there’s no escaping her guardian. Meanwhile, Hawk is having trouble resisting her. Because he’s her guardian, she’s forbidden to him, but that just makes him want her all the more. Mayhem ensues, however, once Julianne’s scandalous pamphlet is circulated. She mustn’t inadvertently give away her identity as the author for fear of ruining her reputation. But can she continue to hide her true feelings for Hawk?

I had so much fun writing HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL. Part of my preparation involved reading dating advice in The Rules and Cosmopolitan. I recall reading Glamour magazine when I was single, and of course, I discussed guys with my girlfriends. Did you ever read dating advice in books or magazines? Or did anyone ever give you dating advice? What’s the craziest How to Catch a Man advice you ever heard? Share with us in a comment for a chance to win an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL plus a set of Romance Trading cards for both of my books (US and Canada only please).

Thanks so much to Shana Galen and the Sisters of the Jaunty Quills for inviting me to blog. May the Magic Romance Fairies be with all of you!

Visit Vicky at www.vickydreiling.com

(Vicky’s winner will be posted on Sunday!)

***

Here’s the blurb:

Dark forces stand poised to crush mankind beneath a vicious rule of terror and blood sacrifice. Our only hope rests with a group living in secret among us: modern magic wielders called the Nightkeepers.

Dez is no angel. The former gang leader spent years in jail and alienated the love of his life, Reese Montana. Now he has a second chance to join forces with the Nightkeepers and master the Triad magic. Even better, Reese is back—taken on as the Nightkeepers’ sexy bounty hunter. But this time the stakes are even higher for Dez and Reese.

The sexual electricity between them is still alive, but when Dez goes rogue on a hunt for a powerful artifact, Reese can’t help wondering if he’s been playing her again all this time … What will become of the Nightkeepers with a potential traitor on the run?

To read the first chapter, go to: http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780451233752,00.html?sym=EXC

***

 “Okay,” you may be saying, “I get the doomsday part of the title, but what’s with the shotgun shells and teddy bear?

Well, the other day as I was picking up my bedroom (read: I couldn’t find the jeans I wanted to wear, and was thus forced to rearrange the random horizontal storage), I caught myself looking at my bedside table and laughing at what was carefully arranged on it. To whit: a Tiffany knock-off lamp, two sheathed hunting knives, three shotgun shells and a teddy bear.

I had to stop and wonder what that assortment said about me, and realized that it actually said a lot. My stories are kind of like that tabletop—lots of danger and action, along with cuddles and pretty shiny things. Granted, there’s also a fair bit of sexy stuff in my stories … but let’s just stipulate that I left a couple of tabletop items off the list

There’s also romance in that collection. My soon-to-be-husband and I are currently living in different states and only seeing each other on weekends … and every Sunday night before I drive him to the train station, he sets out these little still lives of mayhem as a way of saying, I wish I could be here to watch your back this week, but I know you can take care of yourself.

Now, mind you, I live in a perfectly nice neighborhood, but having those things close to hand reminds me that I’m loved by a sweet, smart and gentle man who has a huge heart, endless patience, and a protective streak a mile wide.

In STORM KISSED, Dez is a bad boy with a far shorter fuse, but he’s got that same protective streak and ability to love fiercely. I could see him leaving peanut butter cups on Reese’s bedside table to remind her of how much they once depended on each other, back before things got so complicated between them, and the candy would join a jar of expensive skin cream and a handgun, because Reese most definitely can take care of herself … except when it comes to a certain sexy Nightkeeper.

So, to celebrate the new release and my guest spot here on the Jaunty Quills, I’m giving away a signed copy of STORM KISSED to one randomly chosen poster. So tell me … what’s on your bedside table?? (Or, if you don’t want to share that, then simply say ‘hi’!)

The JQs are thrilled to have Eloisa James with us as she discusses one of the, ah, more colorful characters in her most recent release, The Duke Is Mine…

Sir Justin  Fiebvre

My daughter has a terrible case of Bieber Fever. Just in case the details of this notable illness have passed you by, here are the symptoms:

1)    Her room is painted in three shades of purple, since that is Justin Bieber’s favorite color.

2)    There are three bulletin boards over her sofa, all covered with pictures of Justin torn out of Tiger Beat, occasionally with his beloved, Selena Gomez, and in one notable example, bare-chested (my husband disapproves of this one).

3)    To the right of the bulletin boards is a full-length concert poster of the Bieb.

4)    To the left of the bulletin boards is a black-and-white canvas close-up of…yes! Justin’s face.

5)    Over her desk?  A quote in vinyl lettering from one of his songs (it took her father and me a full hour to figure out how to transfer the letters to the wall).

Have I forgotten anything?

Well, there is the Justin nail polish (not that she uses it), and the Justin toothbrush, and the Justin singing doll…

Now you know why Sir Justin Fiebvre appears in The Duke is Mine:  because if your beloved daughter spends approximately 20 out of 24 hours of the day talking about Justin, at some point a writer has no recourse but to stick the fellow in a book.  He wears purple velvet, in case you’re wondering… and all the girls scream when he sings.  I think he’s going to be a literary hit;  Julia Quinn wrote me and said that he was her favorite character in the book (Sorry, Olivia and Quin!).

So if you could take any star from pop culture and shape him into a character in a romance, who would it be?

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa’s very first book that she “found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar”; later People Magazine raved that “romance writing does not get much better than this.” Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists.

For SEDUCING THE VAMPIRE, I didn’t come up with a totem for my heroine Viviane LaMourette, so much as realize she’d had one all along.   Even after I’d written about it, it took a few passes through the story to realize “Yes!  That’s her totem.”

The first time the hero meets the heroine just outside the ballroom in an 18th century salon, he marvels over the red roses tucked along the side of her onyx dark hair.  In the centers of those roses are skulls.  Hummingbird skulls to be precise.  [That picture of the necklace is a replica of a hummingbird skull.  Creepy?  Kind of, but I own that necklace!]  She later tells the hero that the hummingbird is her totem, but doesn’t explain why.  He realizes (about the same time this author had the realization, and so wrote it into the story), that the heroine is much like the fragile hummingbird.  Beautiful and unique, she has to flutter her (imagined) wings quickly, for if she ceases, she will succumb and flounder and eventually die.  Viviane is a vampiress struggling to survive in a patriarchal vampire society.  She doesn’t want to be owned by any male vampire, so she feels she has to stay one step ahead of them, fluttering her wings ever faster, or she will die.

It was a unique way to show her vulnerabilities, and at the same time, her strength.

So tell me if you feel you have a totem?  Do you relate to an object or animal?  I like to think the dragonfly is my totem.  I have two copies of SEDUCING THE VAMPIRE and some nifty beaded bookmarks (book thongs) to give away to two lucky commenters.

Is there anything more magical than falling in love in a foreign land, or than the joint discovery that comes not only from a growing intimacy, but from the shared exploration of somewhere new and exciting? Now, though I’ve been on trips with my partner that might be described as romantic, I’ve never been lucky enough to have a passionate fling abroad. Yet, the idea of the holiday romance captivated me, so that I had to incorporate one into Voices On The Waves.

Of course, things don’t always go according to plan. Like a couple of my characters, you might have the misfortune of falling victim to a philanderer, or of losing your heart to someone who doesn’t return your feelings. Heartbreak is unbearable enough when it happens at home, but at least then you have your friends and family around you to help fit the pieces back together. To have your heart broken while on holiday, far away from any willing shoulders to cry on … I can’t think of anything worse.

Unless it’s the scenario my mum encountered recently while cruising the Mediterranean. During dinner on the final evening, she and her friend got chatting to a guy on their table, who asked them if they’d enjoyed their trip.

“We’ve had an absolutely amazing time,” Mum said. “How about you?”

“Well, not really,” he confessed, grimacing. “Only a couple of days into the cruise, my partner and I discovered we’re not actually compatible.”

Imagine the misery, the squirming discomfort of being forced to share a cabin with someone you no longer want to be with. Oh, and let’s not overlook the crushing disappointment. You’ve lavished your hard-earned money on the trip of a lifetime, spent months in a state of barely contained anticipation, only to have it turn sour almost the moment you set foot onboard the ship.

These are my thoughts, but if you’ve had any experiences of holiday romances, for better or worse, I’d love to hear about them. Anyone kind enough to leave a comment here, or at any point during my blog tour, will automatically be entered into the draw to win a $15 gift voucher for either Amazon or Barnes & Noble, so don’t forget to provide an email address in case I need to contact you. I’ll be announcing the five winners at the end of my tour on October 31^st over at my blog http://www.jessicachambers.co.uk/blog. Good luck!