by BethToday I'd like to introduce my fabulous critique partner (and the best friend I could ever ask for *g*) Blaze author, Tawny Weber! Tawny and I have been critique partners for many years now and have gone through the highs and lows of this business together. She's always there for me and best of all, listens to my whining when I've hit the middle-of-the-book blues :-)
Here's the back cover blurb from Tawny's latest, JUST FOR THE NIGHT
Things to Do in Blackout…
Power outages happen, and you have to be prepared. After all, you could be trapped somewhere—like in an empty store—with your ex.
Who is still irresistible. And hot.
And who knows how to make the most out of a dark situation….
Checklist for: Larissa Zahn
Food
Water
First aid kit (With condoms. Be prepared. Very, very prepared.)
Someone you’re still overwhelmingly into (Jason Cantrell, I’m looking at you.)
Plenty of time in the dark (Read: hot nookie. Lots of it.)
The ability to walk away without regrets in the morning…. (Uh oh!)
24 Hours: Blackout No lights. No power. And no holding back…
Sounds great, huh? To find out more, check out Tawny's website.
Since Tawny and I both have May releases, we thought it would be fun to do a joint blog today. Here's our Fave Five:
Fave Author:
Tawny - Nora Roberts
Beth - Nora Roberts
Fave type of hero:
Tawny - The Bad Boy
Beth - The Lost Soul
Fave hook:
Tawny - Makeover/Cinderella
Beth - Friends to lovers
Fave book of each others:
Tawny - A Not So Perfect Past. I loved Dylan from the first time he showed up in Not Without Her Family and still adore him to this day. What a fabulous hero!!!
Beth - Going Down Hard. I love Tawny's sexy cowboy Reece and the conflict between him and Sierra, the heroine. Those two generated some mighty hot sparks!
Fave thing about our current release:
Tawny - I love Larissa’s need to control things and Jason’s refusal to be controlled. Between her deep-seated desire for romance and his fear of it, this was a really fun story to write. Those differences really came into conflict when the two of them were trapped together in the blackout.
Beth - I loved revisiting the Sheppard family and getting to write the Sheppard brothers again but mostly, I just loved Matt *g* He's a charmer and hides his true feelings behind an easy grin and it was great fun to see the heroine fall for him despite her best efforts not to :-)
Now we'd like to turn it over to you and find out your Fave Five.
Who is your fave author?
Fave type of hero?
Fave romance hook?
Fave Blaze or Superromance?
Fave thing about the last book you read?
One commenter will win signed copies of both JUST FOR THE NIGHT and THE PRODIGAL SON!
58 comments:
I really have too many fave authors to count. I am an eclectic romance reader of all lines! I am definitely more of a contemporary reader so Supers suit me to a t!
I love a wounded hero with a past!
Favorite hook: Now this is another tough one but I love a recluse drawn out of his shell by a woman who won't stay away!
Fave Superromance...I have read more Supers than Blaze so I think at the moment it is a tie between Not so Perfect Past and Karina Bliss's Here Comes the Groom. It is mean of you to make me choose! ;-)
Fave thing about the last book I read...it was a romance but I actually learned something about a profession I thought I knew. The romance was wonderful but I always love that added bit of something whether it is a new twist on a trope, a fact or two I didn't know, or just discovering a new author.
Looking forward to reading all the responses.
Peace, Julie
Hi, Beth and Tawny!
Your qustions got me really thinking and I probably can't choose just one answer! :) I tend to read everything from Historicals to Contemporaries (not much PNR, though).
Who is your fave author?
-Lisa Kleypas/Sarah MacLean/Lorelei James....
Fave type of hero?
-Tortured Hero with a troubled past/Lost Soul
Fave romance hook?
-Marriage of Convenience/Second Chance/
Wallflower-Rake....
Fave Blaze or Superromance?
-Sarah Mayberry Best Laid Plans (I haven't
read any books by Beth, yet. Sorry!)
-Tawny Weber Breaking the Rules
Fave thing about the last book you read?
-the second chance the couple got and, of
course, Ford *sigh* (Jill Shalvis The
Sweetest Thing)
Just wanted to pop in and say, Morning, Beth. And Welcome Tawny. I'll be back later with my answers .
Fave Author ~ I can't pick just one as I love too many of them. I can list at least 25 auto-buy authors and still be missing some.
Fave hero ~ Another hard one but probably the hero who feels he has no love to give anyone.
Fave hook ~ Man left with a baby/child to care for and no idea how to do it.
Fave Blaze or Superromance ~ I refuse to answer this as well. How can I pick out of so many outstanding books. Guess it's the one I'm currently reading and on and on.
Fave thing about the last book you read? It was a Medical by Amy Andrews called Rescued by the Dreamy Doc and in it she addressed many mental health issues. I loved the fact that she had the guts to tackle such a topic in a very sensitive way.
First, let me say that Tawny will always be special to me because it was during her workshop with Joanna Rock and Brenda Chin that I thought up the idea for Vegas Two Step (which happens to be a makeover story) Even though she did nothing but smile, look pretty, and teach us how to write a good query and synopsis, she was part of my own personal magic. Happy to have you here today, Tawny. :)
Favorite author: Lee Child
Favorite hero: The charmer
Favorite hook: makeover/secret identity (I'm a sucker for the whole Cinderella story. Give me down-trodden woman who is really regal and worthy and have her fight for a happy ever after, and I'm hooked.)
Fave Blaze or Super: I don't read many Blazes. I have several unread ones on my shelf I've been meaning to get to, so I'll pass on that question. And my favorite Super? Hmmm. I always like my own because, really, if you don't like your own, why are you writing them? But I also like the diversity of the other Super writers. Mary Sullivan writes sweet cowboys, but Kim Van Meter has a sexy theif and her ex-boyfriend FBI agent. Island innkeepers, New Zealand librarians, and firefighters? Can we be anymore diverse...and fantastic? Nope.
The last book I read was The Iron King by Julie Kawaga (I think that's the spelling. Too lazy to get up) and I loved being taken into a Fae world in trouble. Very well-written though I don't read much fantasy. I read many books at the same time, so I also finished Mary Kay Andrews Hissy Fit which I loved for the sheer nutty Southernness of her characters. My favorite scene from that book came when Keeley caught her fiance doing the nasty with her maid of honor and freaked out. She carved ashhole on the hood of his car, which had me rolling because that's something I would probably do when pitching a fit - misspell the curse word. :)
Hi Beth,
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your 2009 RWA talk about critique partners. I listened to it last fall and was inspired to join Rom-Critters, an on-line critique group. The CPs I've met there have been invaluable, so thank you.
Best of luck with your upcoming book,
Kristin Noel Fischer
Who is your fave author?
This question is never fair, but if I have to pick one it's SEP-Susan Elizabeth Phillips. *Fav series Karen Marie Moning's fae series.
Fave type of hero?
Lately, it's been wounded warriors.
Fave romance hook?
I love unusual first meets, but I'm not sure that's a hook, so I'll say marriages of convienence.
Fave Blaze or Superromance?
Again, not fair question because there are so many But I recently finish Maddie Inherits a Cowboy by Jeannie Watt in one sitting and I haven't done that in a long time.
Fave thing about the last book you read? Since I read multipal books at a time that would be hard to pin down. But I love the world building and book ending hook so much in KMM fae series that I'm rereading them all before I allow myself to read that last book. So I guess what I like is when I put the book down and wish it didn't have to end.
Hi, Julie! Thanks so much for saying you enjoyed A Not-So-Perfect Past! It was sort of mean of me to ask you all to pick a favorite *g*
I love learning about different professions, especially ones I'm not very familiar with :-)
LOL, Claudia! Choosing just one answer for some of the questions is tough, isn't it? I have at least a dozen authors I could pick for fave author but I do especially love Nora Roberts' books :-)
Those are great picks for fave Supers and Blaze! And Risque Business is still one of my favorite covers of Tawny's *g*
Kaelee, I really enjoy Amy Andrews' medicals! I haven't read Rescued by the Dreamy Doc but I'll definitely have to check it out. Sounds wonderful *g*
That's a great choice for fave hook!
Liz, I remember that workshop! Actually, I think I may have been the moderator *g* Either way, it was great and those ladies are wonderful teachers :-)
Can we be anymore diverse...and fantastic?
LOL! So true! The diversity is one of my fave things about Supers as well. I love that there really is a Super out there for everyone ;-)
Thanks, Kristin! I'm so glad you enjoyed the workshop and that you've found some great CPs. That was the year Tawny couldn't make it to the conference so her editor Brenda Chin and our dear friend Kathleen Long stepped in to help me out *g*
Okay. Nobody told me there was going to be a quiz. I'm going home to get an excuse from my mother. ;-)
Actually, I'm taking my granddaughters to see Rio! So, I will have to pass on the Q&A, but I enjoyed your post.
Deb
Love the favorite hero and favorite hook answers, great reinforcement for writing those kinds of stories.
A big happy hug to Beth for having me here today :-) And a wave to everyone - what a great blog.
As Beth said, we've been critique partners forever and ever, and I absolutely love her books. SuperRomance is a fab line. I had fun seeing how similar our answers to the Fave Five were, too *g*
Julie, wounded heroes are so wonderful, aren't they? They instantly evoke that nurturing need in us as a reader and in the heroine.
And isn't it great when we can learn something new from a book. That's always the cherry on top bonus of reading a fab love story for me :-)
Favorite Author: I like way too many authors to ever pick just one.
Favorite Hero: The strong, capable man
Favorite hook: Friends to Lovers
Favorite Blaze and Favorite Super Romance: Good Time Girl by Candace Shuler and Naturally Naughty by Leslie Kelly - Her Best Friend by Sarah Mayberry and Plan B Boyfriend by Ellen Hartman
Favorite thing about the last book I read: The steamy encounters in Any Way You Want Me by Jamie Sobrato (very appropriate since she writes for both Blaze and Super Romance.
Aww, Claudia, thank you!!! I am so thrilled that you liked Breaking the Rules. Max is pretty much my current favorite hero, too. He reminds me of my husband :-)
You're another fan of those tortured heroes, hmm? Redemption is a fabulous thing to read -seeing the hero saved and healed by love is almost as good as the happy-ever-after itself.
*waving* Hi Rogenna :-)
Who is your fave author? I don't have just one favourite author.
Fave type of hero? As long as he's not a bulldozer, I like him.
Fave romance hook? reunion
Fave Blaze or Superromance? I don't remember any titles. I like the ones I've read.
Fave thing about the last book you read? The communication was good.
So I guess what I like is when I put the book down and wish it didn't have to end
Love this, Rogenna! I have some faves that I've read over and over again and still hate when I get to The End *g*
Okay. Nobody told me there was going to be a quiz. I'm going home to get an excuse from my mother. ;-)
LOL, Deb! It is like a pop quiz, isn't it? Have fun at the movie :-)
Love the favorite hero and favorite hook answers, great reinforcement for writing those kinds of stories.
Definitely! It's great to see so many different faves, too *g*
A big happy hug to Beth for having me here today :-)
So glad you could join us!
And if anyone wants to hear even more from us, Tawny and I will be discussing hooks tomorrow at the Blaze authors blog. There's a link to the right under Super Friends :-)
Who is your fave author? Like the others, I have a large number of them. My FIRST I-want-to-read-all-of-your-books author was LaVyrle Spencer, though.
Fave type of hero? Again, no faves. I like them all: rich, poor, royal, amnesiac, cowboy, CEO, doctor, etc. etc.
Fave romance hook? What is it with this? Still no faves. I like the variety. There's usually some sort of mystery involved in order for the reader to turn pages quickly to the end, though.
Fave Blaze or Superromance? Okay. Now this is ridiculous. I again like that variety. How about "any book I don't throw across the room"?
Fave thing about the last book you read? Finally! Something I can answer! I just read Anna DeStefano's THE FIREFIGHTER'S SECRET BABY. Several things I loved: I had to keep turning pages quickly in anticipation of what was coming next; the mystery/suspense in the storyline; the conflicted/tortured motherly feelings for the heroine; the length of the story (not too long; not too short);l and characters were well-defined and likeable. How's that?
This is so good that both of you have a release in May Whoo Hoo Ladies.
Fave Author
Anna Campbell
Fave Type of Hero
Bad boy turned good
Fave romance book
Claiming The Courtesan
Fave Blaze or Superromance
Coming on Strong Tawny/A Not So Perfect Past Beth I had to pick both
Fave thing about the last book you read
The love between hero and heroine that overcame a spell put on the hero by a witch loved it.
Have Fun
Helen
Fave author - I have too many so I can't just choose one.
Fave type of hero - bad boy
Fave romantic hook - friends to lovers
Fave blaze or superromance - I love them all!
Fave thing about last book I read - It was the second book of a series which I am really enjoying: A Hellion in Her Bed by Sabrina Jeffries
Hi Tawny and Beth,
Who is your fave author? Stephanie Laurens and Julie Garwood
Fave type of hero? Super bad alpha hero
Fave romance hook? Revenge
Fave Blaze or Superromance? Karen Foley's "Able-Bodied"
Fave thing about the last book you read? The banter, chemistry and the hot love scenes.
Hi Kaelee :-)
Aren't babies the best?! I love reading about little ones and how they bring out the best emotions and the biggest fears on characters :-)
Liz!!! Hi there and big hugs :-) I'm privileged to have played a teensy minor part in your magical journey. And what a great journey it's been for you!! Congrats :-)
Aren't those makeover stories fab? And OMG LOL I almost spewed tea reading your summary of Hissy Fit. I'm now going to have to get that book - it sounds fabulous.
Hi Kristin :-)
Wasn't Beth great at that workshop?! I was bummed to miss it but loved listening to the recording. I think CP's can be one of the greatest writing tools we have -right up there with a fab editor and chocolate LOL.
I like is when I put the book down and wish it didn't have to end.
Wow, Rogenna, that says it all! I love those series that are so powerful that when a new book is out, you start again at book one just to revel in the wonderfulness of the story.
LOL but this is the best type of quiz, Debra :-) No wrong answers.
Have fun at Rio - I'd love to hear what you think.
Hi Tammy :-)
What a great list of favorites. I'm a fan of a lot of the same authors.
and Yum on the strong, capable hero. That's so sexy, isn't it. He makes the best Friends to Lovers character, too. There's something extra romantic when the heroine realizes that this guy she's been depending on for so long is the one making her heart race.
Chey -what a vivid description :-) A hero who isn't a bulldozer. That's fabulous. After all, who wants a hero who runs them over and leaves them flat?
Love the post!
Fave author - is of the book I'm reading now!
Hero - damaged
Hook - best friends to HEA
Fave Super or Blaze - I haven't read Tawny (shame!) but I loved Beth's first book (I actually won a free copy for signing up for her newsletter).
Fave thing about last book - the characters.
Hey, Tammy! Friends to lovers is a great hook. I have a few ideas for a story using it but haven't put it down on paper yet *g*
Claudia, I'm sorry I got your fave Blaze title wrong! Not sure why I thought it said Risque Business (but it is another great book *g*)
Max is a fabulous hero and that cover's not too shabby either ;-)
Hi, Chey! I love reading reunion stories! There's something so powerful about that second chance at love *g*
Laney, Anna's books are fabulous, aren't they? And any story that keeps a reader turning the pages is a winner!
Hey, Helen!
Fave Author
Anna Campbell
Anna's a fave of mine, too, Helen *g* And we're lucky because her latest, Midnight's Wild Passion is out now!
Thanks for hanging out with us today :-)
Hi, Cathy. Another vote for the friends to lovers hook *g* It's a good one!
Isn't it great when you find a series you love? To me, there's nothing better than that anticipation of waiting for the next book and knowing you get to revisit wonderful characters :-)
Jane, Julie Garwood was one of my first 'fave' authors. The very first was Johanna Lindsey though I didn't discover her until midway through her career *g*
Hi Laney :-)
I think LaVyrle Spencer is on a lot of people's auto-buy favorite list! What a fab author.
I'm giggling over your favorite requirement being 'any book that didn't get thrown against the wall'. *ggg* Now that's a solid yardstick!
and WOW - Anna DeStefano's book sounds amazing.
Marcie, I'm so glad you enjoyed NWHF. As my first book, it holds a special place in my heart *g* And poor Tawny only had to read it (or at least, versions of it) about a dozen times before it sold :-)
I love a damanged hero, too. Love watching them overcome that damage to become whole again.
Helen!!! :-D
I just finished reading Anna Campbell's latest in the wee hours this morning. The woman is amazing.
And thank you for your great taste LOL. I'm so glad you enjoyed Coming on Strong -and have to say A Not So Perfect Past is incredible. I love Dillon so much.
Woot, Cathy :-) Let's hear it for those sexy bad boys!!
Hi Jane :-)
Your fave hero sounds great. Super bad alpha. Yep, super hot!
Isn't Karen a fabulous writer. Her books are always great entertainment.
Marcie, hi :-)
Not Without Her Family rocks. I loved that book. Kelsey was so tough but so soft inside. It has a special place in my heart as the book of Beth's I've read the most *beg*.
Hi, Beth!! Hi, Tawny!!
What a lovely post! So fun to learn about your faves AND about Tawny's newest!
As for my favorites... I couldn't possibly choose ONE favorite author, no sirree! That's crazy talking! ;)
Favorite type of hero--strong, quiet but with a sense of humor; unafraid of hard work...
A couple favorite hooks--friends to lovers, plain Jane gets the hero, marriage of convenience...
Hmm... not sure I could choose just one favorite Blaze OR Superromance--there are so many excellent choices. The latest I read is Jeannie Watt's Cop on Loan, which was excellent! And Sarah Mayberry is absolutely amazing.
Patricia Gaffney's Outlaw in Paradise was a treat--loved how the "outlaw" wasn't at all who he seemed to be. It was fun seeing the layers unpeel as the story progressed!
Thanks again for the fun today!
Don't have a fave author as there are too many :) LOL, both Beth and Tawny are on my list of auto-buys when I have the bucks to buy though!
I like a beta hero or an alpha with lots of beta traits. A hero that can laugh at himself and is kind to others and pets would be my first choice.
I like friends to lovers, especially the old family friends.
Superromance! I love the family stories!
Just finished Kim's second book in her Mama Jo's boys series. Can't wait for the third book. I just love Mama Jo!
Who is your fave author? Robin Hobb
Fave type of hero? Strong & silent.
Fave romance hook? From antagonists to lovers. Watch the fireworks.
Fave Blaze or Superromance? Unguarded by Tracy Wolff
Fave thing about the last book you read? It was actually Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett - LOVED the witches. Very funny!!
marypres@gmail.com
Hey there, Fedora :-D
Layered stories are great, aren't they. It's so rewarding to peel your way through the pages to the core emotions.
Sarah and Jeannie are amazing authors, aren't they?!
YAY!!! That's so cool to see we're auto buys *g* Thanks, Snookie :-)
Those beta heroes are so sexy. Or gamma - the combo of beta and alpha. I love those hotties!!
Family stories are wonderful. I just finished reading a few of Nora Roberts' series and that's one of the things that always draws me in - the sense of family history and close connections.
Hi Robin :-)
Yum on the strong silent hero. So sexy!!! And sparks are the best. Passion is always better with sparks flying.
Beth, thanks so much for letting me hang out with you and the Super Authors today :-D What a great place. I really appreciate all the fun.
Hey ladies, hope it's not to late to drop by. Tawny, we were Golden Heart finalists in the same year. Incidentally always wanted to ask you where your first name came from. I love it and never come across it before.
Beth, I don't think I've told you yet how much I enjoyed Not So Perfect Past. Great book.
Karina
Hey, Fedora! A sense of humor is a must for me in a hero. And I agree with Tawny: Sarah and Jeannie are fab authors *g*
Thanks, Snookie! Kim's books are wonderful, aren't they? Have you tried her Harlequin Romantic Suspense? They're great :-)
Hi, Marybelle! Tracy's another fab author (we sure do seem to have quite a few of those here *g*)
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