Straight out of a romance novel

Sentosa Resort & Spa

by Emmie Dark

Well it's a bright and refreshed "hello" from me today! I'm just back at my desk after four days of vacation. Four days isn't that long, I know, but when you spend it entirely in the tropical climes of Singapore, by a gorgeous pool, and drinking more cocktails than you mother would approve of, it's more than enough. :)

I'm really not kidding
about the lazing around
and drinking cocktails
by the pool.

Writers often talk about needing time to "refill the well". I think that's what I was doing. I was also making sure I had the kind of experience you usually only read about in romance books -- and I'm sure I can chalk it all up to "research"!

I certainly did feel like a romance novel heroine -- probably from a Presents rather than a SuperRomance, but you never know! Perhaps my next book will have a way to ensure my hero and heroine spend time on a super-exclusive, super-gorgeous resort.

So shall I turn you green with envy and give you a few more snaps from my holiday photo album?

Okay, then.

You'll be glad to know it wasn't ALL lazing around and doing nothing but reading books and drinking ever-more exotic cocktails. We did manage to get out and about and see a few things.

Our resort was on the island of Sentosa, which is just a short cab-ride over a bridge from the main city of Singapore. (You can also catch a bus, a monorail or a cable car -- but more on that later!)

One of the first "tourist" stops we did on Sentosa was visiting the butterfly park. I wasn't so keen on the idea (butterflies really are just bugs with pretty wings as far as I'm concerned) but I'm glad I went. There were some gorgeous specimens fluttering around and it was quite peaceful to be among them.

Unfortunately the butterfly park also included the "insect kingdom" which housed tarantulas and all sorts of creepy crawly stuff that I usually only see in my nightmares. After the pretty butterflies, I just did a quick jog through that section with my head down and I'm glad to report I didn't see anything nasty.

The next day was a spa day, and after massages, foot baths, scrubs and facials, we headed for a dip in the therapeutic waterfall pool. I'm not quite sure what made it therapeutic, except that it was very cold, which was actually a nice thing in the steamy hot weather.

We also took a trip back into Singapore to visit one of the icon's of the city: Raffles. It is a stunning building that totally makes you feel part of a bygone era. We even scored a cocktail in the Long Bar where you eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor.

And we also enjoyed a glass of pink Moet & Chandon at the "pink brunch" on the 70th floor of one of Singapore's many posh hotels. (Actually it might have been more than one glass. Might have been more than two, too...!)

And, finally, we did the cable car trip between the island and the mainland.It was quite good fun, except for one section where it got very windy and the car swayed around a bit. It was also billed as "The World's First Angry Birds Cable Car Ride!".

I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing, because the wind rocking was more than enough without someone piffing angry birds at us. But they seemed to think it was a selling point, and who am I to argue, especially when they give me a big Angry Birds cushion to rest on during the trip?

That's about it from me -- now that the well is filled I must get seriously stuck into finishing book number three! In the meantime, because I'm feeling so rested, I'm in the mood to giveaway another copy of In His Eyes. Just tell me a little about your dream vacation and I'll chose a random person to get a signed copy.

Married Without Children -or- How Not to Start a Conversation with Me

The minute my fiance, now my husband, slipped the wedding ring on my finger, the questions from friends, family and near strangers went from “When are you getting married?” to “When are you having kids?”

My husband and I have been married just over two years, and we’re enjoying our lives, keeping busy with our flourishing careers. When we see friends or family, though, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend.

“So...” they begin, glancing down at my midriff.

“That’s just fat,” I tell them immediately, and at their blank stares, continue, “I like bacon.”

Which is absolutely true. Who doesn’t love bacon?

I’ve learned to brush off most of the questions and looks. I even use the Twitter hashtag #notpregnant because as soon as I mention food cravings, nausea, stomachaches, fatigue or anything that might suggest I’m in the family way, speculation ensues.

I get it. Pseudo-relatives, rarely seen acquaintances and people I don’t know intimately gravitate toward life milestones in conversation. “How was your vacation?” “How’s your cat?” and “How’s the house?” are typical. Likely, you’ve heard these questions at different stages of your life:

“How’s school?”

“Which college program are you in?”

“When are you getting married?”

“When are you having kids?”

Well, I’m not deigning to answer that question here. Suffice to say, #notpregnant exists for a reason.

To prevent future awkwardness regarding my inexplicable weight gain and/or reproductive capabilities, here are some better topics of conversation you won’t be able to shut me up about:

• writing
• Jeremy Renner
• Avatar: the Last Airbender
• bacon

I will also accept any conversation that is simply a back-and-forth Q & A where every question begins with “Have you seen/read...[insert a movie, internet meme, YouTube video or book].”

Tired of being interrogated about something personal? Do you have topics you’d rather not have people poke you about? If you could wear a sign that said “Talk to me about...” at a cocktail party, what would your list include? Let me know in the comments below!

Pamela's Winner Is ...

The winner of a copy of OUT OF THE DEPTHS from Pamela's drawing is:

aretha zhen, arethazhenATrocketmailDOTCOM

Please contact Pamela through her website at www.pamelahearon.com and CONGRATULATIONS!

Celebrating Superromance!

by Liz Talley

So just in case you guys and gals didn't know...Harlequin is celebrating Superromance this month over in the community section of the Harlequin blog. Use this link to drop by for a visit:

http://community.harlequin.com/

If you look at the bottom (toward the left) you will see all kinds of cool things they're doing to celebrate the big girl of category romance, including an online read, a chat with Sarah Mayberry, a Superromance reading challenge and a special spotlight forum where people can ask all kinds of questions (and I must say that Superromance reader and aspiring writer Marcie does a nice job of coming up with great questions). It's a smorgasbord of Harlequin Superromance goodness.

As part of this event, I was asked to do a special online read. At first I sort of wondered if I could pull it off. Write short? Uh....maybe? But after thinking about how much fun it would be to share a story with people who perhaps never picked up a Superromance, I knew I had to give it a shot. So I flipped through my mind to all the secondary characters in my Boys of Bayou Bridge and found my sassy, smart-mouthed Mary Belle Prudhomme who, when the second book opens, is fast on the heels of Bear Rodrigue, her high school sweetheart. Well, Bear isn't the sorta guy who is easily brought to heel, and he leads Mary Belle on a merry chase as he gallops after a good time. So I wondered what would happen if Mary Belle gave up on Bear? And even better - what if the former nerd next door turned hot dentist showed up after years of being gone from Bonnet Creek? Oh, what would Mary Belle do if she couldn't stop thinking about Tripp the Drip and the way he filled out those athletic shorts? I tossed in a little revenge for Tripp and brought Lou from Under the Autumn Sky into a few scenes and suddenly Mary Belle wasn't just Lou's sassy friend. She had dreams, goals and a hunger for a certain boy she'd hurt years ago.

Yeah, it was fun to write Mary Belle and Tripp's romance.

So, if you're game, you can catch up on that free online read over at the harlequin community site along with other fun conversations about the books we love by the authors we love.

And lest you think I'm hogging all the limelight, I will add we have a wonderful selection of books out this month with stellar reviews from RT Books, including a debut author in Pamela Hearron. And when I got my RT Books magazine today, the reviews were just as good for the upcoming October books. Yeah, we got great things happening at Superromance, and I'm excited to be part of the terrific writers who create wonderful stories of complexity and emotion. And with some new changes for Superromance coming in the 2013, I can't wait to see the line take its place as the Grand Dame of Category romance. With new voices and old favorites, I can see a bright future for the line I first fell in love with.

Sometimes, it's hard from me to believe that a 12 year old girl who peddled her bike all the way to her aunt's used bookstore now is writing a spotlight for the line. Jeez, my Aunt Lucille would be so thrilled to know it all started in a dusty corner (top shelf) of Rogers Grocery almost 30 years ago.

So, let's chat. Can you remember your first Superromance? Who was your favorite author back in the day? And if you're new to Superromance, what keeps you coming back?

By the way, this is Superromance number 11, published in 1982 by Worldwide Library and I wish I could share with you the teaser....let's just say Tor (all 6 foot 2 inches of him) was the first man who'd ever kissed her, and he can't bring himself to take her beside the beautiful lake....

Emmie's giveaway winner!

The winner of a copy of "In His Eyes" from Emmie's "Behind The Scenes" post last week is:

Cecilia83! 

Cecilia, please email Emmie at: emmie (at) emmiedark.com to claim your prize!

Going for the Gold

As I watched the closing ceremony for the 2012 Olympic games last Sunday night, I felt a small burst of panic in my chest.  I wasn't worried about what I would watch on tv now that the games are over--I still have a season-and-a-half of  Mad Men  waiting in my Netflix queue.  I became anxious about this blog post--afraid readers' eyes would glaze over at yet another Olympic analogy. When I scheduled this blog, I didn't realize the games would be over.  I thought it would be easy to work everyone into that rah-rah spirit one more time.  You see, right in the middle of this year's games I had my very own Olympic moment:  my Harlequin Superromance debut OUT OF THE DEPTHS was released.  (In my mind, I'm hearing the roar of deafening applause right now).

Like those athletes we watched, my journey to this point wasn't easy.  I suffered the agony of defeat several times. My first book (which took me six months to write and six years to revise:-) was contracted by a small publisher six years ago.  Four months before it was to be released, the publisher filed for bankruptcy, and took my manuscript along for the ride.  It was almost a year before I got my rights back. 

By that time, I had written a second book, but I was pretty gun-shy.  When I finally had the courage to put my babies back out there, I received offers of contracts for them from two small pubishers within three weeks of each other.  The caveat was that the first one was ebook only, while the second was ebook with print books available as print-on-demand.  I was proud.  I had two books published, and one I could actually hold in my hands.

But I had an even higher goal to attain.

So last week, when I walked into the Books-A-Million in my hometown and found OUT OF THE DEPTHS staring back at me from the shelf, it was that dream-come-true moment.  My husband and I were giddy.  I squealed. He laughed.  We took pictures, not caring about the strange looks we were getting.

In my mind, I was standing on the podium, and someone had just placed a gold medal around my neck.  It wouldn't have surprised me a bit if the Star Spangled Banner had come blasting through the speakers.

In years to come, when people speak of the 2012 Olympics and all the amazing stories of triumph that came out of those games, I'll swell with pride remembering my very own moment of glory.

So how about you?  Give us a glimpse of that moment that was pure gold for you.  For the first time here, I get to give away a copy of my new book to someone who comments (squeeeee!!!:-)

Those darn squirrels!

I'm convinced the squirrels in my yard enjoy vexing me. 

by Darlene Gardner

Some days my writing isn’t as productive as I would like. I’m going to go ahead and blame squirrels for that. Bear with me here, and I’ll explain.

I often write in view of my deck, where I have hanging feeders to attract birds. I enjoy glancing up from my work in progress to see the birds happily munching away. I do not enjoy seeing squirrels stealing seed from what are supposed to be squirrel-proof feeders. It makes me leap up from my manuscript and rush out on the deck, waving my arms and yelling things.

They shake this feeder so the seeds fall out.

Now where was I? Oh, yeah. Explaining how squirrels disrupt my writing. Even the thought of those darned things (rats with furry tails, I call them) rattles my concentration.

They’re a nuisance I don’t want near the house. They gnaw on the wood of the deck, they dig up our crocuses and they take bites out of our ripening garden tomatoes. On one nightmarish occasion, a squirrel snuck down the open flue of the chimney and got loose in the house. Can you tell I don’t like them?

A bird! That's more like it.

I do like birds, though. This conundrum has resulted in me spending a small fortune, not to mention brain power, on bird feeders that might keep the squirrels out. Probably my most effective feeder was attached by a suction cup to the window. After almost a year of squirrel-free bliss, the annoying things figured out how to hang from the window frame and raid that feeder too.

I’ve included photos of my current feeders. The only one squirrels don’t bother with is the hummingbird feeder. They shake the round cage feeder so the seed falls out. I was really excited about the suet feeder, but they even figured out how to beat that one by hanging upside down from the deck.

As you can see, there’s also a photo of one of  my nemeses. It’s lurking beside the hummingbird feeder but is poised to sneak onto one of the other feeders. Darn rats with furry tails. How am I supposed to get any writing done?

What distracts you? If it’s not squirrels and you’ve found a way to beat them, let me know! I will be forever in your debt.

A whole new model

Mary Sullivan

While surfing the internet searching for a topic for today's blog, I came across an article about the changing face of farming—and farmers—about a trend in one of Canada's provinces. I don't know how far it extends across North America, but I found the article intriguing.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1241115--young-city-born-women-buck-ontario-s-aging-farmer-trend

You can guess by the url what the topic is. Young, urban, educated women are choosing to leave cities to buy farms. They are actively choosing organic farming as a career.

I've always respected farmers. They are a hard-working breed who don't receive as much respect as they deserve, in my opinion. They work long hours under often-tough conditions. Look at the state of this summer's growing conditions. There just hasn't been enough rain to produce substantial crops. It will be a tight harvest for Canadian and American farmers.

So, why are so many young women in Ontario turning to farming? Why choose such a difficult career? I think it might come down to a quote from one of the women who made the choice.

“When you work on a farm that respects the environment, you see your impact on the earth in a very real way.”

So, in a very real way, she gets to control a piece of the world at a time when so much of that world could feel very much out of her control. Given this summer's drought, that seems a bit of a stretch and yet, in a very real way, she gets to, in her small corner, direct the future of our planet. One mentioned doing 'something positive for our earth.' A couple of the women talk about 'principles' and 'conscience.'

One woman makes the point that women have always pulled their weight on farms. They were just never called farmers. They were called farmer's wives, but they worked every bit as hard as their farmer husbands.

Wow, I have to admire the sheer guts of buying and starting a farm. It's a risky proposition at the best of times. One thing that I didn't read in the article was anything about regret. Not one woman said a word about regretting the decision to farm. Of course, I don't know how many have tried and given up. These women persevere, though.

Kudos to them! My hat goes off to them! I hope their farms survive our often hostile world.

I would love to know how far this phenomenon stretches. Is there any sign of this trend in your corner of the world?

I've Lost That Loving Feeling

I read a wide range of different genres, but lately I’ve consumed a steady diet of romance novels. Maybe I’ve OD’d or maybe I’m just that strange duck that isn’t bright enough to join the flock. The heroes in the books I’ve recently read are just too darned nice. How did I discover this? Because I wanted to write a novella with‒I kid you not‒a hero who stalks the heroine. (Just in case someone‒everyone‒ thinks I’m an idiot, I know the reality of being stalked is a horrifying experience and would never romanticize it.) To make things worse, I realized three quarters of the way through the story, I wanted the heroine to be guilty, which would have made her not so heroic. But more interesting.

Obviously, I’m experiencing a backlash from all those nice people I’ve been reading about. I know when readers chose a romance they’re not buying the book to indulge in a dose of reality. They want the perfect hero. Oh, he can have a flaw or two; we all know the drill. But when is the last time you read a romance where the hero was seriously flawed‒Anne Stuart aside? (I’m sitting here with my hands over my ears imagining all of you shouting out titles!)

Oh, for the age of the anti-hero. I loved Heathcliff when I was a teenager. Yes, I know, we all grow up and leave the bad boys behind. I know Heathcliff was a nasty bit of goods, but no one doubted how deeply he loved Catherine. And didn’t you always hope he’d redeem himself? Wasn’t he a fascinating character? Maybe it’s because I grew up reading books like Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and du Maurier’s, Rebecca, where anything was possible, both good and bad, that sometimes I want…more. And let’s not go the easy route and bring out the whip. I don’t mean that kind of more!   

Books reflect what’s happening in our culture. People don’t really change, but what we expect from them does. Which, I suppose, in turn, gradually brings about change. So if most of us want the ultimate hero‒ a tough guy who can cry, make perfect love and a good income, what does that say about us? Are we afraid to take chances with our heroes? To let them be less than perfect? And what about our heroines? Do we expect as much from them as we do from the hero? Or to put it another way, do our heroines have more leeway to be less than perfect?

As for the hero in my novella, he decided to behave himself after I gave him a stern talking to. But the heroine? It remains to be seen exactly what kind of trouble she’s in. Guess you’ll just have to read Out of Control.

Help me out with my summer reading list, please. Tell me who your favorite anti-hero is and why.      

  

Snakes in the House!

This is my new headboard, which is
much less disturbing than the snake(s).
Also I forgot to take a photo of the snakes

By Jeannie Watt

My house is so clean and clear of clutter that it echoes. I’m not certain I’ve ever experienced this before, but this is what comes of two teachers having time on their hands and a house that needs a lot of work. So far this summer we’ve pulled up the old carpet—or what was left of it—and replaced it with hardwood. Thanks to my bestest friends, we were able to get the job done in two days.  We replaced the semi-operational vent fans (meaning they sounded like vent fans but didn’t actually do the job of vent fans) in both bathrooms, repainted most of the rooms and ceilings. We installed new blinds, washed windows, cleaned out junk drawers.  We’ve never had a headboard, so we made one out of old French doors. I’m soooo happy with my house…or I was until we found the first baby snake in the basement.

I’m sorry to say that the baby snake—a harmless bull snake—had an unfortunate encounter with our cat prior to my discovering it. The snake, to quote Monty Python, is no more. However the discovery was disturbing because if a baby bull snake can get into the basement, so can a baby rattlesnake. After pointing this out to each other several times—just in case one of us didn’t understand the potential gravity of the situation--my husband and I decided to write the snake off as a fluke.  I really preferred the fluke theory over my husband’s gloomy a-pregnant-snake-got-into-our-basement-and-laid-eggs theory, so I ran with it—right up until the second hatchling showed up today.

This snake was alive, but my cat was getting ready to change that. I put a teacup over the little guy, then transferred it into a jar.  (We released it several miles away from the house when we went to get the mail.) My husband and I then had a serious discussion. We started by pointing out to each other that if a hatchling bull snake can get into the house, then so could a hatchling rattlesnake. After making certain that we were both clear on that point, we discussed the pros and cons of the situation.

Pro—it’s a bull snake and not a rattlesnake.

Con—it could easily have been a rattlesnake.

Pro—if a snake laid eggs in the basement, there are a finite number of snakes in the basement

Con—there are snakes in the basement.

We didn’t get much farther than that. Later in the afternoon, my husband found a hatchling in the garage, so now we are fairly certain that the snakes hatched in the garage and are finding their way down the steep basement steps and into the house through an incredibly small crack under the door. That crack will soon (again in the words of Monty Python) be no more and once again I will love my house—although it’ll be a while before I walk through the basement without keeping a very close eye on where I put my feet.

In His Eyes: Behind The Scenes

Kim and John - the inspirations for "Waterford Estate" with
a copy of In His Eyes and a bottle of Lillicur Estate shiraz.

by Emmie Dark

Today is the official launch day for "In His Eyes", my second SuperRomance. To commemorate the occasion, I thought I'd give you a little insight into the "behind the scenes" of Hugh and Zoe's story -- which is partly based on the story of some very special friends of mine.

This is Kim and John, the minds (and hard work) behind Lillicur Estate, a boutique vineyard in the Pyrenees region of Victoria (Australia). Kim and I went to high school together, and then she met John in her first year at university, so the three of us (and then, in time, their two beautiful daughters) have been friends for longer than is polite to mention.

Kim and John decided to start up their own vineyard about seven years ago. Kim has a biology/chemistry background, so being familiar with lab equipment and stuff like acidity tests, the technical side of wine-making wasn't too daunting for her. John is a techie and an entrepreneur and definitely not afraid of rolling up his sleeves to drive a tractor, so they found the perfect piece of land and they set out to plant a some shiraz plants. At first, I have to admit, the "vineyard" really just looked like a bunch of scrawny sticks in a paddock to me...

But, a few years on, and their second vintage was winning silver medals in local wine shows, and their wine was being sold in selected local restaurants (as well as being a favourite on my own table). It's still very boutique, so you can't wander in to your local store and ask for some, but to me, that only makes it more special. :)

When I first came up with the idea for Hugh and Zoe's story, I was having a little girls' weekend away with Kim. I had this germ of an idea about a woman returning to her childhood home, a vineyard, and facing the task of finishing a wine vintage on her own. So I started peppering Kim with questions. What would happen if things went wrong? How much of the wine making could a lone woman be able to do without help? What problems might she encounter?

Kim was amazingly helpful and, in fact, continued to keep answering her phone when I called her over the following months with other, strange questions, when she really had every right to say, "enough now, okay?". But no, she continued to put up with me asking seemingly dumb stuff. How physically demanding is racking off? (That's when you empty the oak barrels of wine, clean them out and fill them back up again.) What finishing touches would you want to make to a wine before it was bottled? What would you need to do to a wine if it had been left in oak barrels for too long?

Happy launch day,
Hugh and Zoe!

Having learned what I learned to write In His Eyes, I don't think I'm ready at all to ever be on the production side of a vintage. But that's okay. I'm more than happy to be on the drinking side of it. :)

And so, tonight, for the official launch day of In His Eyes, I went and found myself a glass of delicious red wine at a very lovely wine bar. Yum!

To celebrate the launch of In His Eyes, I'm going to give a copy to a random commenter. Tell me about a good friend who's done you a huge favour.

And if a free book giveaway isn't enough for you, visit my blog and leave a comment there to go in the running for a pair of stunning Riedel wine glasses. I'm choosing a commenter at random from throughout the month of August to win this very special prize.

Festival Time

This weekend is my town's Italian Festival, an annual event of food and fun! While there is entertainment, games and even a few rides for the little ones, the draw of the festival has always been the food. Pizza, pastas, eggplant Parmesan sandwiches, fried dough (think pizza dough that's been deep fried then tossed in sugar and cinnamon), meatballs and sausages, cookies and pastries and so much more. Just about everyone in town will eat at least one meal at the festival :-)

It's such a popular event that high school reunions, family reunions and trips home are scheduled around the Festa (as it's locally known). Downtown stores hold sidewalk sales, a portion of Main Street is closed off and set up with tents and tables while people mill around catching up with those they haven't seen since last year.

Does your town/city hold annual festivals? Which ones do you attend?

Congratulations, Kristen!  You're the winner of my mixed bag of Harlequins for "It's All About the Books!"


And Congratulations, Eli!  You're the winner of our Super Six pack for the month of July!


Please contact me via my email rogenna@aol.com.

Harlequin Superromance August 2012

On Her Side
by Beth Andrews

Harlequin Superromance
Aug 2012
ISBN: 9780373717941 (#1794)

Attorney Nora Sullivan wants her mother's killer behind bars. To do that, she needs the help of the primary suspect's son—Griffin York. Too bad Griffin seems determined to avoid all involvement. Fortunately, Nora knows something about persuasion and sets out to convince him he's needed. It's not easy getting past his rebel facade, yet she sees glimpses of the considerate—and sexy—side he hides. Her efforts to sway him have an unexpected effect when every glimpse of the inner Griffin makes her want him more!

Regardless of the simmering attraction, what can the future hold for them? Their differences go beyond the murder case between them. Yet when Nora needs Griffin the most, he proves he just might be on her side.

Within Reach
by Sarah Mayberry

Harlequin Superromance
Aug 2012
ISBN: 9780373717958 (#1795)

Being a single dad was never on Michael Young's agenda. Yet with the sudden loss of his wife, that's exactly the role he has. On his best days, he thinks he can handle it. On his worst… Luckily, family friend Angie Bartlett has his back, easily stepping in to help out.

Lately, though, something has changed.

Michael is noticing exactly how gorgeous Angie is, and how single she is. She's constantly in his thoughts and he feels an attraction he never expected. Does he dare disrupt the very good thing they have going? If they have a fling that goes nowhere, he stands to lose everything—including her. But if they make it work, he stands to gain everything!

Making Her Way Home
by Janice Kay Johnson

Harlequin Superromance
Aug 2012
ISBN: 9780373717965 (#1796)
A child is missing. The words chill Detective Mike Ryan and bring to mind memories of his own tragedy.

He'll dedicate every resource he has until the girl Sicily is found, safe…and alive. His investigation hits a snag with Sicily's aunt and guardian, Beth Greenway. Beth's cool demeanor is at odds with the situation, making him suspicious. She's definitely hiding something. But the more time he spends with her, the less he believes that something is about the missing niece. And with all that contact, Mike sees Beth's vulnerabilities. Suddenly, he wants to protect her, even while he wants to know her secrets.

As the search hits one roadblock after another, Mike's dedication intensifies. He needs to bring Sicily home for Beth…but also for the future he wants with them.

A Better Man
by Emilie Rose

Harlequin Superromance
Aug 2012
ISBN: 9780373717972 (#1797)

Roth Sterling is a straight shooter, a guy you want on your side. As a soldier, he defended his country. As a cop, he upholds the law. For a kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, he's done well for himself. Now he's back in his hometown, only this time, he's the new police chief.

He's in for a few surprises, however. Piper Hamilton—the girl he loved—still has the power to move him. And they are tied together thanks to the son he didn't know he had. Roth is determined to do right by Piper, whatever it takes. Even if it means becoming the one thing he never thought to be—a family man.

In His Eyes
by Emmie Dark
Harlequin Superromance
Aug 2012
ISBN: 9780373717989 (#1798)
Hugh Lawson and Zoe Waters have a tangled history. But she left ten years ago and he's put her behind him. Except she's here again—just when Hugh's ready to make an offer for her family's legendary vineyard. And her version of those long-ago events is enough to make him question everything he thought he knew.

Hugh can't let the past destroy his plans for the future. Which means he has to unravel the truth. But as he does, he begins to realize that he may have been as responsible for what happened as Zoe. And that going back could be the only way to move forward.

Out of the Depths
by Pamela Hearon

Harlequin Superromance
Aug 2012
ISBN: 9780373717996 (#1799)

Kyndal Rawlings thought she'd learned her lesson when Chance Brennan left her to pursue his Ivy League dreams. Yet here she is, in Kentucky, falling for him all over again. Maybe it's being stranded in a cave with him…the same place they first became lovers.

Or maybe there's still something between them.

Not that anything will change—even after four tense days of depending on each other for their very survival. Chance needs a certain kind of woman to help him with his career. And Kyndal will never be that kind. But something has changed. Something that will force them to decide what they really want.

It's All About The Books!

Since the early nineties Romance Writers of America has raised more than $770,000 to fight illiteracy.

The "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing has become one of the most popular events at RWA's Annual Conference. This year over four hundred romance authors participated in the event.

The 2012 literacy autographing raised $52,933 for ProLiteracy Worldwide, Read Orange County, and Literacy Volunteers of Huntington Valley.

Here I am stopping to pose as I set up for the event. I packed 96 copies (48 each of Mitzi's Marine and Marry Me, Marine) for Anaheim. This was the first year supplying my own books for the signing and 10 was the suggested number.

As you can see I brought 10 each to the signing and sold out of Mitzi's Marine and most of Marry Me, Marine so I was glad for the sake of literacy I'd over compensated.

Why lug a suitcase full of books all the way to conference? Not just for the signing or goodie room giveaways--though did that, too. But because I wanted to see how many books I could fit into my spare suitcase without going over the luggage limit of fifty pounds. That way I'd know how many books (after getting rid of mine, of course) I could bring home!

I'm not greedy, okay maybe I am when it comes to books, and there are a lot of FREE books at conference. My roommate, who drove in, carted away five boxes--225 books. In past years I've shipped books home for more than it would have cost to buy them. Or at least that's what it seemed like. So this year I was determined to pack them out.

Since only two boxes of Supers (which weighed in at 15 pounds each) would fit into my suitcase, I knew my limit was 96 books--give or take--depending on size. Without straining my back or my budget I came home with 80+ weighing in at 34.5 pounds.

While putting them away last night I realized I still have some unread books from last year--oh, oh. I'm never going to read all these books I came home with. That's why I'm giving away a variety of Harlequin books to one lucky commenter today. Just confess to me your own book addiction!

Also, we will be drawing from all of July's comments for this month's Super Six pack. Next month we'll draw from August, etc. So keep those comments coming! Even when we're not giving away a daily prize your comments count toward the monthly drawing!