Conference!

This past weekend I had the great opportunity to "vacation" in my hometown of St. Louis. Along with 8 of my journalism students, we attended the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association fall national conference at the convention center/Renaissance Grand Hotel.

Over 5,000 attended, and of that number, over 4,000 were high school students with some middle school students added to the mix. We attended breakout sessions, all day workshops and bonded by going to lunch and a fancy dinner at Kemoll's (yum!).

The cool thing is they come back to school on Monday and they are all revved up and ready to go. Me, I was tired. Saturday night I had a yearbook company dinner. We got to tour Busch Stadium and eat dinner in the Stadium Club. Stadium Club seats cost around $15,000 a year, so being in the "club" even though there was no ballgame was a real treat--and the food was delicious. After dinner, instead of hanging out with friends, I was tucked into my bed and fast asleep. I didn't even hear my roommate Susan when she came back in later that night.

I haven't done much writing, but as of later today, I hope to squeeze out some time as I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with the yearbook initial deadlines. Today I'm getting all the seniors who haven't already had their picture taken for the yearbook out of class and sitting them in front of the photographer, who is coming to our school just for them. That way they aren't left out. But today marks the end--we will have finished senior ad submissions, senior photos, club photos, cookie dough sales/credits, and picture retakes for underclassmen. We put out our third edition of the school newspaper yesterday. Whew. Amazingly enough, the December 1 we are at school for a 13 hour day, closing out the December issue of the paper.

Since I don't blog again until after Turkey Day, I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving! I plan on getting some sleep, and writing.

Michele

Cleaning my office

I don’t know about you, but mess and clutter suck the energy right out of me. My office, the place where I spend so much time and where I create the books I love to write, is a mess. I have finally decided to clean it up. A daunting task, considering the piles of papers everywhere. On the floor. On the work area where my computer sits. On the adjacent desk. In the closet. Plus there are three 2-drawer filing cabinets and one file-size box that are bulging with stuff—papers, but who knows what info they contain? Every file needs to be cleaned out. I thought about posting photos of the mess, but I’m too darned embarrassed!!

Just thinking about that gives me a mega case of dread. A friend once told me that when she faces a monumental task, she pats herself on the back for what she completes every day, rather than on what’s left to do. Wise advise, indeed, and I’m taking it to heart.

Last weekend I made a to-do list and have pledged to complete every task by the new year. Here are some of the things on the list:
Paint the walls
Organize and clear the bookshelves of books I don’t read and don’t use
Move the inspirational sayings tacked all over the bookcase shelves and covering many of the books (blocking the titles, etc.) to a different location
Purchase a 4-drawer, vertical filing cabinet
Buy a bulletin board
Sort, file and toss papers on work spaces, the desk and the floor and the filing cabinets, and get rid of all piles!

Here is my progress report to date:

On Veteran’s Day I painted the office a lovely, pale apricot color. I bought really cool paint that has little odor—a plus since it’s too cold to open any windows. The room looks clean and warm now, and I really like it.

I found a four-drawer, cherry wood vertical file cabinet at Office Max online for a great price. Twenty-four hours later, they delivered it . My husband assembled it without my even asking. Now that’s what I call support and encouragement. I labeled each drawer and am ready to file.

I tossed a good chunk of paper from the file cabinets. (Still a ton to go—but I’m focusing on the great work accomplished to date, not the piles left…)

The crammed bookcase is now clean and organized, with the inspirational sayings in a pile (yeah, I know—another pile). That will change, just as soon as I get a bulletin board. Soon!!
Lots of empty bookshelf space, which is a good thing, as I know more books will come. This time, though, I’ll be careful about what I stick on the shelf. And I’ll periodically weed and clean. Weed—isn’t that a great word for clearing clutter?

So yes, I’m making good, but slow, progress. Hooray!!

Until next time, and wishing you a clean, pleasant work space and a Happy Thanksgiving,

Ann
www.annroth.net

Thinking Turkey

I can't believe Thanksgiving is almost here. As usual, time flies...when you're having a good time, of course. Or maybe it just seems to be that way as we get older. I don't even know what family plans are for this T-Day. I do know that my youngest believes that I should roast a turkey, even if it's the two of us sharing it. I'm really not looking forward to eating every form of turkey sandwich and/or casserole known to woman, if that's the case. But what's a mother to do when most of her chicks have pretty much left the nest and have "another" family to spend holidays with?

I promised myself that I wouldn't be the kind of mother who would insist that her offspring (daughters, in my case) spend at least one holiday with the family. I saw and heard too many arguments about going to this family or that family-in-law holiday dinner to last a lifetime. I did NOT want to repeat that with my own. So far, I haven't, and we usually find a way to all get together, even if late in the day for a second meal, sometimes lasagna instead of turkey.

And I find myself looking back at the holidays from my childhood. Unlike most of my maternal cousins, I lived in the city, while they lived in the country. I adored going to my aunt's or cousin's or great-aunt's homes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was a day away from the mundane, and there was always something different and often special to do. At my great-aunt Dorothy's (my mother's mother's sister), we were allowed to feed the lambs by bottle. At my great-aunt Lucy's (Dorothy's sister), we once had fresh milk straight from the cow, and there was an outhouse. There were trees to climb (on nice-weather days) and hay wagons to play on. There were eggs to gather and the best food imaginable to eat. But best of all, there were kids to play with and, as an only child, this was what made holidays special for me. Of the six of us within twelve years of age, there were two cousins older than me--both girls--and three younger--one girl and two boys. It was heaven! And even though I was a city girl and went to school in the city, while they were all country kids and went to school together, we were never strangers. Later, when I moved to the country, I had an advantage. I was related to many of my fellow students. I wish I could see them more often now, but we've all grown up with families and families' families of our own. I'm happy that my daughters were able to at least attend school with some of their cousins (sons and daughters of my cousins), but I wish we hadn't abandoned those memorable holiday dinners.

So whether we all get together--the four daughters and their spouses and intendeds and four children of their own--or not, and whether I'm asked to fix the turkey or not, I hope in some way we make new memories of our own this Thanksgiving. And I hope your memories of this holiday are the best ever!

Author Interview with Marin Thomas

Interview with American Romance Author Marin Thomas

How long have you been published?

Not that long really. My first book came out June 2004.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

Story-telling ability of the author. Each writer has her unique voice, unique way of stringing words and sentences together but if the author isn't able to tell a good story that engages the reader, creates characters that the reader cares for, cheers for, cries with, celebrates with…then it's just another story.

If you could erase any horrible experience from your past, what would it be?

I narrowly escaped being abducted by a city cab driver while walking home from elementary school. I had stayed late to help a teacher with a bulletin board. It was during the winter and I left the school at dusk around 4:00. I remember the cab pulling up along the curb, the driver rolling down his window calling me to get in. He said my mother had told him to pick me up. I knew that couldn’t be right because my mother would never waste money on a cab. The school was about a mile from my house and I was halfway home when the cab showed up. So I ran. Tears streaming down my face I ran like my tights were on fire. The driver kept pace with me and I remember hearing his laughter. Once in a while he sped up then would stop the cab and wait for me to catch up. To this day I don't know why he didn't get out of the cab and just grab me. I was so exhausted and terrified I doubt I would have been able to put up a fight.
When I made it home and ran up the front porch steps, the driver stopped in front of the house and opened the passenger door. He waved a bag of candy at me and tried one more time to get me in the cab. When my mom opened the door, I practically fell into the house. I was so distraught I couldn’t talk. By the time I was able to tell my mother what had happened the cab was gone. Needless to say I never walked home alone again for a long, long time.

When you looked in the mirror this morning, what was the first thing you thought?

I paid too much for that wrinkle cream at Walgreen's.

Describe your writing space.

When I sold my first book my husband bought me a Texas Ranger's desk. It's huge and I love it. It has Texas stars on the front and the drawer pulls are antique stars. There's a real buffalo skull on one wall, a painting my father did years ago of a blacksmith framed in old barn wood, I have an Indian rug on the wood floor and two flea market specials--a battered chest and a storage cabinet made of metal and wood. In one corner stands a Texas coat rack on which hangs an antique sombrero, a gun holster with a "fake" six shooter, cowboy spurs and a rope. In another corner stands an Indian spear and rain stick. The room is painted Life Vest Orange by Ralph Lauren. I did a faux leather technique on the lower half of the wall beneath the chair rail using an Elmer's glue and water mixture to paste pieces of ripped butcher paper to the wall. Once that dried I painted over it with a Tobacco glaze by Ralph Lauren. I've never been afraid to use bold colors in any of the homes we've lived in. Now that we're in the Chicago area I especially appreciate the warm colors during the long dreary winter months.

What are you reading now?

Decembers HARs. I belong to the monthly book club. It's always fun to see what the other authors in the line are writing.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I've written 12 books so far for the line and I have a few favortites. My first two books, The Cowboy and the Bride and Daddy by Choice are special to me because of the positive feedback I received from readers. For the Children is my favorite out of my Hearts of Appalachia series. And my current release The Cowboy and the Angel is special because I wanted to show that Christmas is more than gifts--it's about a time of year people can and should touch the lives of others in need--especially children. I chose Detroit as the backdrop for this story because the city often gets a bum rap due to its economic troubles, political turmoil and crime….but often the true spirit of Christmas is strongest and more heartfelt in the trenches of our larger cities, which are mostly made up of smaller, tight knit communities.

Are you working on anything at the present you'd like to share?

I'm finishing up the third book in my Cartwright series. Matt's story (A Cowboy's Promise) comes out April 2009 and Samantha's Cowboy is due out in August 2009.

What did you do career-wise before becoming an author?

I worked as an AT&T team manager at an 800-number call center. When I had my son I became a stay-at-home mom. When the kids entered elementary school I became a substitute teacher. Now I write full time.

What is your dream car?

A 1959 Cadillac Convertible classic. Here's the link (if it works) of the car http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1466353978010957762ARFFWY

If you were stranded on a deserted Island what kind of hero would you want with you--A Cowboy, a Viking Warrior, a CEO, a Forensics investigator, a Chef or an Accountant…and why?

Definitely a Cowboy. Because the only way he knows how to get off the island is by horseback, which pretty much guarantees we're going to be stranded for a very long time!

For more information on Marin Thomas and her books please visit www.marinthomas.com And stop by http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/ on Tuesday November 18th when Marin shares her "Call" story and discusses the American Romance line.

Marin Thomas
RT TOP PICK The Cowboy and the Angel (Nov 08)

Booking my expenses

Despite the popular perception that all romance writers are rich, most of us struggle along on a budget like everyone else. These days, for almost everyone I know, matters have gotten serious. If we don’t pinch pennies until they squawk, how will we afford to buy all the books we want? Not to mention giving books as gifts this holiday season.

Since I’ve always been the queen of cheap, I thought I’d pass along a few tips. I hope someone will find them helpful!

So here goes.

· I use credit cards – Borders, Amazon – that pay me back in gift certificates with which I can buy books.
· When planning meals for the week, I check out that forgotten stuff in the freezer and pantry. Sometimes I can squeeze out a couple of almost-free meals. At least, they feel free, since I paid for them long ago.
· As some of you will recall from previous blogs, I’m an avid vegetable gardener. Not only do the big crops like tomatoes and zucchini pay off, but bountiful basil makes for pesto dishes all summer and fall. It can be grown in pots, too.
· Energy savings add up. After our son left for college, I went around the house unplugging his appliances. Also, I turned off the waterbed heater – a foam pad keeps us plenty warm.
· Sometimes buying in bulk makes sense, and sometimes it doesn’t. Take a calculator to the store if necessary, and don’t forget to factor in the cost savings if buying in bulk translates to fewer shopping trips.
· Remember those Borders and Amazon credit cards? My son’s university lets us charge his tuition at no additional fee. I pay off the charge promptly, and let me him use the gift certificates to order textbooks.
· If you grind your teeth at night and your dentist recommends an expensive night guard, try buying a mouth protector at a sporting goods store for less than $10. This saves me hundreds of dollars.
· But: Avoid false economies! I’m keeping my newspaper subscription. In addition to the fact that I enjoy reading it, the subscription makes economic sense because of the free coupons and sales ads.

Feel free to add your favorite tips. And good luck to everyone who’s working hard to make it through these challenging times.

Title Me!

My 21st book is Bachelor CEO. However, like most of the books I’ve written, it didn’t start out being called that.

Titles are extremely important, and often what the author sends in isn’t what goes on the cover. Take the covers on the right. They weren't called that at first.

In fact, my very first novel sold as Temporarily Yours, and Melissa Jeglinski decided to call it A Little Office Romance. She just picked it, told me what it was and I was like, okay, since it was a great title. I also had a great cover and my debut did well. Catching the Corporate Playboy was my title, but many of them are a result of brainstorming and a back and forth between the editor and the author (me). I’ll talk a little more about that in a minute.

Continuity series books are different. All of my three titles were already assigned, and those were The Simply Scandalous Princess (I got to work with the very talented Jacqueline Diamond and Kara Lennox) and then the NASCAR series Tailspin and Out of Line.

Once I’ve fought to keep my title. I loved Hart’s Victory (Harlequin NASCAR) and my agent went to bat for it, especially after marketing wanted to change it. When they couldn’t come up with anything better, they stayed with Hart’s Victory.

But often, titles can be made better. I’ll admit, I don’t stress over the title when I submit the proposal. And sometimes I come up with the new title, and other times my editor does.

The Marriage Recipe didn’t start out that way, but that title is one I came up with. Together my editor and I came up with The Christmas Date.

All of my linked series The Marriage Campaign, The Wedding Secret and Nine Months’ Notice were something else, although I don't remember what. Funny how after a while, I can’t remember. I do remember that Redeeming the Wayward Playboy became About Last Night, a title I came up with. Twins for the Teacher (out in March 2009) was my editor’s much better replacement for Educating Hank. One time I sent in Capturing the Cop’s Heart, and it became Capturing the Cop.

So back to Bachelor CEO. The first title was The Reluctant CEO, but really, once I wrote the book that title no longer fit. The book is part of Harlequin American’s Men Made in America series. I wrote the CEO book, which is why it was essential CEO stay in the title.

So I got the email asking for new titles and the brainstorm began. I sent in these:

The CEO Dilemma or CEO's Dilemma
The Hot & Bothered CEO
Sex & the CEO
Loving the CEO
Marrying the CEO
The CEO's VP Problem
Promoting the CEO
CEO in Charge
Small Town CEO
The Millionaire CEO
Capitalizing on the CEO
Casting the CEO
Cultivating the CEO

At this point, you sent in anything and don’t worry if it sucks.

My editor sent back these:
The CEO's Proposal
The CEO's Secret Wish
Taking on the CEO
The CEO's Secret Love
The CEO's Family Business
The CEO's Surprise
The CEO's Dream
The CEO Takes a Partner

We both realized we still were batting zero. Then we learned that Kathleen decided that the best title would be something like The _______________CEO, so we started with adjectives. My editor sent back this list:

Obstinate
Steadfast
Ultimate
Driven
Bachelor
Substitute
Convenient
Reliable
Passionate
Betrayed
Ruthless


I sent back my reasons for and against each choice and said I really liked The Bachelor CEO. So my editor sent that one to Kathleen, who sent back that after reviewing the books out that month that she wanted to drop the article, and thus Bachelor CEO was titled. It debuts in July 2009.

I’m currently working on Baby on Board, a title we just might get to keep. Or not.

Michele

National Novel Writing Month

Most of the time, I don't need outside motivation to write. I love writing, and I look forward to a day when I have nothing on my agenda, so I can spend the whole day at the computer. That's when I'm working on a story I love and it's going well and I'm not on a tight deadline.

But those other times ... yeah, okay, sometimes it's just work. And I would much rather watch mindless TV, clean the oven or get a root canal. Yet writing is my job and I have to do it whether my muse is cooperating or not.

November is National Novel Writing Month, when writers all over the world are challenged to complete a novel (or 50,000 words, whichever comes first) between Nov. 1-30. There's a website, and you check in every day with your word count and they give you a nifty graph to mark your progress. And if you succeed, they send you a certificate.

This sounds like fun to me, and since I've had a little bit of trouble slogging through my current project, I thought signing up for NaNoWriMo would motivate me.

Boy, was I wrong. I don't know whether it's performance anxiety or what, but my page output is actually less than normal! With the month one-third over, I've produced exactly 7822 words. At this rate I won't even get halfway done.

Then again, I am making forward progress, whereas before, I was completely stuck. The point of this exercise is that you write without editing yourself, just write write write and worry about the quality of your prose later. Just get to the end! Remembering that has actually helped me get going in the right direction again.

My next blog day is on the 29th. I'll let you know how I'm progressing and if I have to pull an all-nighter!

The Great Escape

The Great Escape

I'm convinced there's no such thing as a life without stress, and as women we shoulder more than our fair share of tension, juggling jobs and family, kids and husbands and church and community work and a host of other balls we do our best to keep in the air.

These tough economic times only make things worse, so I think it's more important than ever to take good care or ourselves. That means finding ways to pamper ourselves and deal with the stress. A walk around the neighborhood always helps me feel better, and there's nothing like a soothing bubble bath to ease some of the tension.

But my number one favorite de-stresser is to read a good book. Reading — and writing — have always been my great escapes.

(True story: In school I hated math class. Especially geometry. I have a very poor sense of direction and a difficult time picturing things spatially. I dreaded geometry class until I disccovered I could scribble away madly in my notebook and the teacher would assume I was taking notes. I wrote an entire 'book' during geometry class my sophomore year in high school. That manuscript is long gone, along with anything I might have accidentally learned in that class.)

Some people like adventure stories with lots of action, where they can imagine themselves overcoming the odds. Other people like fantasy or the other-wordly elements of paranormal stories.

Me? I like reading about people who live lives a little closer to my own. People I could imagine having as friends. Heroines I could imagine myself being. Reading about their problems and how they overcome them helps me put my own worries in perspective.

I also really enjoy visiting another part of the country in the pages of a book— either a place I've been before, or someplace new to me. I love it when a writer takes me on a virtual journey to a new town or neighborhood. I don't have the time or money to do a lot of real traveling, but for about the cost of a coffee and a pastry I can spend lots of enjoyable hours in great places all over the country,

In other words, I enjoy stories like those found in the pages of an American Romance. Books that are guaranteed to make me feel good about life by the time I'm done. With the cost of everything going up, books are still one of the best bargains around.

So — what's your favorite escape reading? Do you like beach books? Holiday stories? Scary stories or a good mystery? What kinds of stories take you away from your troubles and help you relax?

Transitions

Ch-ch-changes. 'Tis the season for them. We in the US just elected a new President, but he doesn't take office until the current President's term ends. The weather is playing games here in the Midwest (nothing new!) and I'm layering for the different times of day. I'd already put away my T-shirts once and turned on my heat, but then we've had a few weeks of 70 degree weather. Today I'm back in light-weight, long sleeves, but those Ts will stay handy. We've celebrated Halloween and look toward Thanksgiving.
On a personal level, I'm at the end of one book and beginning the process for the next. My CP (critique partner) has the bulk of the "old" one to review. She'll no doubt find plot holes, loose threads, logic flaws, and plain old typos. Bless her heart! So that book isn't really "finished."
And I'm trying to adjust to new contacts! This is the hardest of the changes for me, but like the revisions I anticipate, I know it'll be better once I've adjusted.
Are you a person who dislikes change? I know a lady who just won't move because of the upheaval it would bring. Why do you think we resist change when we deal with it everyday?
Until the next thing comes along, take care.
Megan
megankellybooks.com

From the Heart

I recently attended the New Jersey RWA conference. What a terrific weekend! The theme of this year’s conference, Put Your Heart in A Book, was echoed throughout the conference. From Lisa Scottoline to J.R. Ward to Eloisa James, I heard it time and again—use your mind and your writing skills, but make readers care by putting your heart into every book and letting your passion for the story shine through.

Sometimes we hear what we need to, and apparently I needed to hear this message. For the past six months I have been making choices and decisions using my heart as well as my head. The experience has been both interesting and hugely rewarding. Why not do the same with novel writing? Not that I didn’t know about writing from the heart before. I did/do, and I strive to put lots of heart into every one of my stories. But hearing the message again is a timely reminder to me to share my passion by digging deep and creating characters, however flawed they may be, with lots of heart. ☺

Until next time, and wishing you a day filled with heart and meaning,

Ann
www.annroth.net

OCTOBER WINNER !!!!!

This month's winner is Gillian Layne!!!!!! Congratulations!!! To get your free, autographed books, please contact Lisa Childs and Ann Roth through their websites.

Tell all your friends to visit us. For your chance to win, simply comment and your name is entered in our drawing.

What do you do on the first?

For some reason, when blogging dates were handed out way back at the start of this column, I lucked into the first and fifteenth of each month. I say “lucked” because they’re easy dates to remember.

As a result, I get first shot each January at wishing you a happy New Year, and, on April first, the dubious honor of swearing that I’m really, truly not playing a joke. As for April 15, income tax day (in the U.S.), I try not to think about that.

Right now, I’m filling out significant dates and reminders in my calendar for 2009. Perhaps because I work at home, I never got into the electronic organizer habit. And let’s face it, I’m just too much of an old fuddy-duddy to keep my calendar in the computer.

As I jot down notations for my blog dates, I note that my other reminders really pile up on the first and fifteenth of each month. For instance, there’s performing a breast self-exam, fertilizing my plants and doing the monthly bookkeeping on the first, and checking under the hood of my car on the fifteenth. No particular reason for these dates; they’re just a simple way to keep track of necessary monthly tasks.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty compulsive about scheduling what I need to do. Take dyeing my hair – that’s assigned to the first Saturday of each month. What this means is that, if you run into me around the end of the month, you can check out my gray roots. But that’s nothing compared to what might happen if I didn’t plan ahead. I’d probably go three months and wonder why I was starting to look my age (as opposed to the age I fantasize about looking, which is thirty).

What do you do on the first of the month? Do you schedule your routine tasks, or do you just wing through life, checking your oil when the engine groans and dyeing your hair when the old color fades into oblivion?

I look forward to reading your responses, just as soon as I finish fertilizing my plants and – what else was I supposed to do today? I know I put that calendar somewhere…

Happy 25th--A Q & A with Anne Stuart

And now to finish out the month, meet Anne Stuart.

Books: Began writing for American with Chain of Love (#30) in October 1983.

Website: http://www.anne-stuart.com/home.html

Bio: Anne Stuart is the grandmaster of the genre, winnter of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, survivor of 35 years in the romance business and still keeps getting better.

Her first novel was Barrett’s Hill, a gothic romance pubished by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she’s written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martin’s Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett. She’s currently under contract with Mira for romantic supsense and historical romance. She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most best seller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day, and countless other national newspapers and magazines.

When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty years, and empty nest, three cats and one Springer Spaniel. And when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.

The Q & A

1) How long have you been published? What was your very first book? My first book came out in 1974 (I was very young). It was a gothic romance for Ballantine called BARRETT’S HILL.

2) Describe your favorite Harlequin American Romance(s) that you wrote. How many total did you do?
Favorite would probably be NIGHT OF THE PHANTOM (which has never been reprinted). It was a re-writing of the Beauty and the Beast/Phantom of the Opera story (I’d just gone to see Phantom on Broadway for my 40th birthday present) and it even had Fabio on the cover (albeit with dark hair). They didn’t tend to put Fabio on too many series romances back then. As to how many – 27, counting the BURNING BRIGHT anthology and BANISH MISFORTUNE, part of the short-lived Harlequin American Premier Editions (there were five of them).

3) How was the Harlequin American Romance line different from the other Harlequin lines?
HAR went through many permutations. It was the first North American line that Harlequin had done (they had Harlequin Romance and Harlequin Presents at that point), and in the beginning it was simply that they were set in the U.S. They quickly turned into Disease of the Month – each book seemed to be centered around the romance equivalent of “a very special episode.” Stuff like drug addiction and abortion and other stuff. It got livelier fairly quickly though, with comic writers like Beverly Sommers and Judith Arnold, women’s fiction-y stuff by Kathleen Gilles Seidel, Barbara Bretton and Cathy Gillen Thacker, and my sneaky romantic suspense (which actually should have gone in Harlequin Intrigue) We also had the first romances with African-Americans as the protagonists (written by people like Sandra Kitt).

4) How did the Harlequin American Romances line change over the years you wrote for it?
The nice thing is there’s been room for a lot of different things in the line. There was a cool sub-imprint called More Than Men which had supernatural heroes – I did two, CINDERMAN, with a scientist who could turn invisible from 8 to 9 in the morning and the evening and could start fires by wiggling his nose like Samantha on Bewitched, and A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT, about Selkies (seal people). Maggie Osborne wrote a wonderful early vampire novel called LOVE BITES as Margaret St. George.

We also did a series called A Century of Romance. I got the 1930s and it was one of my favorite HARs, but it tanked big-time. They tried to reissue them a couple of years ago but the audience still wasn’t there. The great thing about Harlequin is there’s always another chance – eventually those books, by people like Rebecca Flanders, Barbara Bretton, Margaret St. George and others, will find their audience.

5) How did writing for Harlequin American help you in your single-title career? The more you write the better you get. I spent more than 15 years writing them, and in that time I got to explore all sorts of characters and relationships. I’d published 5 books before I sold to HAR, and I learned more with each book. That doesn’t mean the older ones aren’t as good – sometimes a more polished book can lack the energy and heart of a rougher one.
My first single titles after I started writing for HAR were historicals for Avon (while I was still writing HARs). Jennifer Enderlin, who was at Penguin at the time, read NIGHT OF THE PHANTOM and my novella for the Silhouette Shadows launch, and offered me a six-figure contract just on the quality of my HAR work. So that was a direct correlation.

6). Describe a moment you remember related to Harlequin American Romance, either reading one, or a fan moment, or an editor moment, or….
God, I have tons of memories. Like torturing one of my poor editors so that she followed me around at conferences like my personal slave. (I was a very bad girl). Or when I wrote NIGHT OF THE PHANTOM and my entire career seemed to shift into high gear. Or the godawful time I was in the middle of writing a book called LAZARUS RISING, where my hero fakes his death and then appears, alive and well in the middle of the book. Unfortunately my 18 year old nephew died in a car accident when I was in the middle of writing it, and I knew that unlike my hero, he wasn’t coming back. I somehow managed to finish writing it, but I’ve always hated it because it reminds me of his death.

7) Do you hear from your Harlequin American readers who have also read your single titles? What do they say?
My HAR readers don’t seem to cross-over much with my single title readers. I don’t really know why.

8) Harlequin American Romance is 25 years old. Describe writing some of the first books for the line. Were there any taboos? Words you couldn’t use? What were the covers like? That sort of thing….
There were all sorts of taboos, and yet there were also things that we couldn’t do today. For instance, in one of the early ones written by Jackie Casto, the heroine had an abortion. Couldn’t say “shit” (can you now?), definitely couldn’t say God damn it or any kind of God or Jesus cursing. And while they let me use bitch and bastard they’d count how many times I used them, and sometimes I had to trade using a no-no word in one scene in order to get it into the scene where it was more important.

The covers were standard clinch covers with a silver border, usually a larger picture and then a smaller one in the corner. I remember one year I had the brilliant idea of doing Christmas books in December and having the silver stripe be green. They told me it was a good idea but too expensive. Obviously they should have listened – soon afterwards all the lines were doing Christmas books.

9) Anything else?
It was actually a wonderfully creative time. Many of us met at the third Romantic Times conference in New York, just as the line was being launched, and some of those friendships have lasted forever. Sandra Brown did the launch book, but unfortunately she also did the launch book for Loveswept, which was debuting at the same time, and the PTB were mightily pissed off. So instead of having the debut authors cut a cake at the launch party they had three of the launch authors (I think they were Kathy Seidel and Barbara Bretton and maybe Beverly Sommers) and invited Rebecca Flanders/Donna Ball to join them.

Happy 25th—Author Profile Ginger Chambers

Author: Ginger Chambers
Website: Find more about Ginger at http://www.eharlequin.com/
Years writing for the line: 1983-1991, 2005

Bio: Ginger Chambers had no plans to become a writer while she was growing up. But she always loved words and stories, so it was only natural that the inevitable happened. After writing over thirty books, Ginger still loves the profession she was ultimately drawn to. She considers it one of the great joys of her life to be able to create characters that come to life on the page and place them in situations that entertain her, as well as her readers.
Ginger started her career with Dell Publishing in the Candlelight Romance, Ecstasy and Ecstasy Supreme lines before moving to Harlequin, where she’s written for the Harlequin American Romance series, Special Projects — Welcome to Tyler and Hometown Reunion — and Superromance books. Within the Superromance line she authored the popular seven-book series The West Texans. Her most recent book is Love, Texas for the American Romance line. Presently, she is hard at work on another American Romance title.
Her two children now grown, Ginger makes her home with her husband near the beautiful Pacific in Northern California.

Q & A:

How long have you been published? What was your very first book?

I sold my first book, THE KINDRED SPIRIT (A Candlelight Romance, Dell Publishing), in October of 1979, so this month is my anniversary as well. It didn’t appear on the shelves until April of 1981, so the wait was a long one for an excited new author. Vivian Stephens, the line’s senior editor, soon started the Candlelight Ecstasy line for Dell, which I then contributed to. At the time Harlequin published few US authors, but when Vivian moved to Harlequin to start the American Romance line, I came right along with her. My first American Romance was #32, GAME OF HEARTS.

Describe your favorite Harlequin American Romance that you wrote. How many in total did you do?

That’s like trying to choose between your children! I feel disloyal even thinking about it … but I love animals, particularly dogs and cats, so my book where the hero is a veterinarian, PASSION’S PREY, is a favorite, as is CALL MY NAME SOFTLY. The last for an odd reason—there was a hit man in the book with orders to do away with the heroine, and all the while he was trying to fulfill his job, he had a horrible head cold. I had fun with that.

I also have a more recent American Romance, LOVE, TEXAS, #1064, which was published in April 2005. So, all together, I’ve written 11 American Romances. So far—

How was the Harlequin American Romance line different from the other Harlequin lines?

American Romance opened the door for US authors at a time when, previously, opportunities had been limited. It’s hard to believe there ever was such a time, considering the number of US Harlequin writers today, but many of us lived it. And readers responded--they loved to read Harlequin books set in places they knew or could easily visit, and which were peopled by characters who could be them or their neighbors.

How did the Harlequin American Romance line change over the years you wrote for it?

Vivian Stephens accepted only completed manuscripts before she would go to contract. And, with her track record, she proved to have a knack for choosing books that readers loved. She wanted well-written books with believable plots and characters where romance carried the story forward. I still remember hearing her say at a conference that she wanted us (the writers) to use all our senses. She wanted the stories to be sensual in the fullest sense of the word—hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch.

When Vivian left the line, Debra Matteucci became the senior editor and carried on in a similar vein. Debra was open to going to contract with a partial, though—50 pages and an outline. So I, along with other American writers, learned to do that. To this day, I’d still rather write the whole book , but then knowing the book is sold before completion is very nice too.

Over time the focus of the line changed. It’s hard to put my finger on how, but it was different. After being asked to contribute two books to the Welcome to Tyler series, Harlequin’s first continuity series, I jumped at the opportunity and loved every minute of researching and writing BACHELOR’S PUZZLE and COURTHOUSE STEPS. Along with two books in the follow-up Tyler continuity series Hometown Reunion, DADDY NEXT DOOR and PUPPY LOVE (another veterinarian book).

Since then, I’ve written for Superromance, where I’ve had 9 books published, 7 of which were my own series within the Superromance line, The West Texans, which followed the lives of the Parker family of the Parker Ranch.

Describe writing some of the first books for the American Romance line. Were there any taboos? Words you couldn’t use? What were the covers like? That sort of thing….
I never had any problem with taboos or words I couldn’t use, because my stories never went in those directions. Guess I’m just not a very venturesome person.

The silver strip on the covers of the early American Romances were beautiful and eye-catching. I was very happy with all of them. The art department at Harlequin has always been very kind to me … with one or two exceptions over the years that we won’t talk about.

Anything else?

Yes. My upcoming book! It’s a June 2009 Superromance that was originally an Everlasting Love. At present I’m desperately casting about for a title, which I’ll have to find soon, because a book can’t hit the shelves with UNTITLED on the cover. It’s about a couple who have been married for twenty-seven years, and are having problems in their relationship. An accident strands them off road in the mountains in a bad snowstorm, where they’re forced to work together to survive….

Michele Dunaway notes: Thanks Ginger. Readers--don't miss tomorrow, when we conclude the month with Anne Stuart!

Tonight, We Carve!

I was doing a Q&A once and was highly amused when one reader earnestly asked how my kids dealt with my "celebrity" status. Did it affect their lives, were they proud, did they fit in with kids at their school with nonfamous parents? That reader made my day with her conviction that someone of my talent should be well known.

Let's face it, guys, Brangelina I am not. Very seldom do paparazzi follow my big blue mini-van, complete with soccer mom magnets and Proud Parent of a Terrific Kid bumper sticker, on my many trips to exotic locales such as...Kroger! It's funny because my kids are wowed by authors--like Mo Willems, of Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny fame, or Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House). They just aren't wowed by "kissing books" or mom in general.

I mean, my kids love me. They're just all that impressed. Mommy can tell a story that makes readers laugh, cry or sigh over a happy ending? Yeah, but that's not as cool as Daddy getting to the next level in Mario Galaxy. Mommy's had books printed around the world in Korean, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Greek and Czech? Yes, but can she carve a really cool pumpkin?

Alas, the answer is no. I mean, for real. I was all kinds of impressed with myself the year I managed this:



I am the last person you want on your team if you're playing Pictionary or anything that requires above preschool levels or artistic skill (and, frankly, I can barely hold my own against most of the preschoolers I know.) Then you have my husband, the freakishly talented who once freehanded a Winnie the Pooh pumpkin and an incredibly detailed Goofy. When our oldest was eleven months old and I was pregnant with another, J carved a perfect Baby Einstein logo. And he managed this Franklin-stein from a children's book just by eyeballing it:



When we visit the pumpkin patch as a family, we come back with multiples. J sits at one end of the table with carved out pumpkins to take requests and help peple, and I sit at the other. His end always has a line, while I sit alone calling out, "Look, no waiting!" and get rolled eyes in response. Of course, usually I end up standing in line for one of J's creations myself. You should have seen the Pirates of the Caribbean pumpkin he did for me--unfortunately, it was so intricate I was never able to snap a picture that completely did it justice.

Tonight our family plans to watch Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on TV, toast pumpkin seeds and carve this year's pumpkins. I will try not to feel inferior. After all, J recently went through a lot of trouble to cook a dinner for us, calling his mom for a family recipe, spending an hour at the the store rounding up all the ingredients and slaving away in the kitchen. Both the kids, though they aren't rude enough to flat out say so, hated it. J was obviously depressed by the reception, so I tried to make a show of finishing mine and ended up sick as a dog the next day (which I keep telling him is probably a coincidence, but it was a severe beating to his self esteem. To compound matters, two nights later, I was lazy and scrambled some eggs for dinner and our seven year old enthusiastically proclaimed me The Best Cook Ever between bites.)

What about your family? Any special talents you or your relatives have, ways that you impress each other? (My grandmother can sew things you wouldn't believe, while I can barely thread a needle. One cousin has a photographic memory.) I have to admit, I'll never be able to compete with this.




Luckily, J loves me for my many other fine qualities! (If our pumpkins turn out well tonight, I'll post pictures later this week on my personal blog for anyone who's interested.)

Boo!

If you love Hallowe’en, then you and I have something in common. It's that one time of year when we get to be a little outrageous, possibly push the boundaries of political correctness, and maybe even get away with it. But I think the best part is giving free rein to our creativity.

I enjoyed dressing up when I was kid but when I had children of my own, I loved making costumes for them even more. Most were sewn from scraps, remnants, and hand-me-downs. Occasionally I’d use a pattern, but I usually made things up as I went along.

This is my son—circa 1983—in a clown costume that was literally pieced together from whatever I had on hand.



Instead of using a wig, I made a red yarn fringe and tacked it inside a cone-shaped hat.

The next year he was a pirate, complete with a cardboard sword and swashbuckling black eye patch. For safety’s sake, I didn’t want to completely obscure his vision in one eye, so the eye patch was just a piece of black felt attached to the bandana.

Of all the costumes I’ve made over the years, this next one is my most embarrassing creation and greatest achievement, all rolled into one. As my daughter (who is currently at university doing a double major in anthropology and environmental studies) likes to point out, it’s both historically inaccurate and politically incorrect. What was I thinking?



What can I say? It was 1985 and I was completely clueless. And apparently I wasn’t alone, because my son came home from school with a ginormous bag of candy—first prize for the best costume.

In spite of the inappropriateness, I must say that the wig turned out quite nicely. I made it myself from long strands of yarn stitched to a section of pantyhose.

These next two were a lot of fun to make.



My daughter’s red crayon was super easy. Patterns for this type of costume were available, but I simply made hers from a tube of red felt. And remember that red cone hat from the clown costume? Here it is again, minus the fringe.

I made the skeleton by having my son lie on some black fabric while I traced around him. From that I stitched up a jumpsuit, allowing enough room for warm clothes underneath, and used white fabric paint to draw on the bones.

Next up is an intergalactic princess, also affectionately known as our adorable little space cadet. I used a pattern for this one, and the fabric came from a ‘70s gold lame evening dress we’d scooped at a garage sale for a dollar. Anyone remember those dresses? Gack! Much better suited for space travel.



That year the intergalactic princess went trick or treating with a vampire, and it was also one of those rare occasions when I tried to do some creative photography. I don’t remember what we used to make my son’s hair black—he’s a redhead in real life—but I do remember that washing it out was not easy. The next day he went to school with some very dark highlights.

Over the years that black cape saw a lot of use. For example, with the red collar tucked inside, it worked as a witch’s cape.

Speaking of witches in black capes, this wasn’t Hallowe’en, but here’s my daughter (on the right) as the Witch of the West in her elementary school’s musical production of The Wizard of Oz.



By then it was the ‘90s and political correctness had come into play, so she wasn’t Wicked, she just wasn’t very nice. And instead of meeting her demise at the end of the play, she was tossed into a caldron, reduced to a tiny version of her former self, and then she ran away. Instead of “Ding dong, the witch is dead,” the chorus sang “Ding dong, the witch has fled.”

The last time I made a costume was two years ago. Meet Marilyn. The intergalactic princess might be all grown up, but that didn’t stop her from asking Mom to make a rendition of that oh-so-famous white dress. And Mom happens to think she’s every bit as gorgeous as the original wearer.

And just for fun, this is our neighbors’ cat, Peter. No costume for Pete. He’s wearing his everyday tuxedo, tastefully accessorized with a pair of jack-o’-lanterns.

I’m sure I have more photos around here but these are all I could find. They certainly provided an entertaining stroll down memory lane. What about you? Did you have a favorite costume when you were a child? Or did you make costumes for your children? Please tell us about them!

Happy Hallowe’en!

Until next time,
Lee

Lee's blog
Lee's website

Ode to the Library

Every so often I rediscover the public library. We have a number of small branch libraries near us. I have four to choose from within a thirty minute drive, since we’re in the middle of two counties. Like many of you, my books of choice are rarely in our libraries-at least not right away. I usually get my Harlequins from our neighborhood Kroger. However, every now and then I get in the habit of reading something new-and that’s where the libraries come in.

Does your town have a good library? The best one I ever lived near was in Mesa, Arizona. Right after I graduated college, I took a one-year contract to teach fifth grade and moved to Mesa, sight unseen. Looking back, that year was certainly a transition one for me. I had just gotten engaged, but my fiancée was living in Dallas. I didn’t know anyone. In addition, my dad helped me pick out my apartment-which, unfortunately, took exactly half a month’s paycheck. So, I had no friends, no boyfriend, no family, little money, and spent most of my time in the company of twenty-five rough-around-the-edges ten-year-olds.

When I wasn’t grading papers or developing lesson plans, I hung out at that Mesa Library. What a place that was-they had a whole section of romances! Plus, there were cozy spots everywhere to sit and read and look at magazines. It became the highlight of my Saturday morning routine.

I know exactly where my love of the library came from-my mom. When we first moved to Houston, our suburb only had a very small library in a single-wide trailer. My mom took me to the library almost every week. They switched out the books on a pretty regular basis, so entering those stacks was like Christmas-almost all new books every month! My first favorite book was The Little Match Girl. I still remember the drawings of that poor little girl, selling matches in the cold! I think the librarian made sure that book was one of the few that never ventured far from the trailer. I checked it out as often as possible.

When I was in middle school, the trailer was replaced by a beautiful big, stone building! By the time high school came around, it was the perfect place to do all our research and study. Well, pretend to study. There’s nothing quite like sitting across a rectangular table with a boy you like…all while pretending to research honey bees or the Alamo. That library also had the most delicious sets of Harlequins and regencies by Barbara Cartland. I still recall how grown up I felt checking out those regency romances for the first time.

In our libraries in Cincinnati, you can now get Internet access, check out CD’s and even get whole seasons of television shows-all for free! My son, a high school senior, just went to ‘study’ at the library for the first time the other day. I later found out there just ‘happened’ to be five or six of his friends there, too.

Maybe going to the library isn’t a thing of the past, after all.

So, what am I reading now? A whole series of mysteries by Margaret Maron. I picked one up because there were twelve of her books on the shelf-Series Reading Bliss!
What about y’all? Anyone still go to the library? Have a favorite library book? And what about your kids? Have they discovered the wonders of old books, stacks of unread novels, and the giddy feeling of having to whisper just to have a conversation?

My Small Town Fix

This past weekend I attended the Hwy. 80 Garage Sale with my friend and fellow writer, Rebecca Russell. This is a garage sale/flea market along US Hwy 80 from Mesquite, TX to the Louisiana border, all through East Texas. I'd never heard of this event before looking on the Mineola, TX website, http://www.mineola.com/. It's similar to the "world's longest garage sale" held annually from Ohio to Alabama. In Wills Point we ate lunch at the Bluebird Cafe, a rustic little restaurant with great cheeseburgers and an impossibly sweet coconut meringue pie. We went to sales in people's front yards, in church parking lots, sold off flatbed trailers at the side of the road, and took advantage of some specials at antique stores along the route. I even bought a 1950s two seat glider that I'd seen when in the area back in July.

We stayed Friday night in Mineola, one of my favorite small towns, at the beautiful and gracious Munzesheimer Manor B & B, http://www.munzesheimer.com/. The Perry Room was large and the breakfast was delicious. We ate dinner on Friday night at Kitchens, a former hardware store and deli that is now a wonderful restaurant with a courtyard and aged brick walls. On Saturday we stood in line for burgers at East Texas Burger Company, a very old and popular restaurant that sells homemade fried pies and other desserts in addition to country cooking.

I've been to Mineola several times. It was one of the first small towns I'd ever spent time in because I'm a city girl. I grew up in Louisville, KY, a city of approximately half a million people when I lived there, and much larger now. After I married we moved to Denver, CO, where I was happily learning to garden, can, and make jelly when my Texan husband dragged me kicking and screaming to Dallas. After living here for 30 years, I'm no longer fighting to escape across the norther border, although I do threaten to rent a house in Maine ever summer.

But back to Mineola ... I organized a few writers' retreats there when I was program director for my local RWA chapter, Dallas Area Romance Authors, http://www.dallasromanceauthors.com/. We stayed up late on the second floor veranda of the (now private residence) Noble Manor B & B and talked about writing and our lives, complained about rejections and fleshed out characters and plots. We went during the Iron Horse Festival, an annual event that celebrates the railroad. After watching marching bands, prancing horses, and little princesses on flatbed floats, we ate from the carnival-type booths at the festival. Judy Christenberry and I even rode the twirling teacup ride! We shopped at the stores and enjoyed the atmosphere. I think perhaps I got the most out of the retreats because I was like a dry sponge, soaking in the small-town flavor. I even interviewed the police chief for the character I was developing for my first Harlequin American Romance, The Bachelor Project.

Whenever I need my small town fix, I go back to Mineola. Oh, I go to other towns also. I believe I saw a depiction of one of my photos from Graham, TX on the new cover of my December release. (Look at the picure to the left and compare it to my December cover for A Texan Returns!) Small towns just fascinate me. I listened to many stories of growing up in towns like Lipan, Lingleville, Mineral Wells, and Dennis, TX from my husband and in-laws. I learned a lot about what made a Texan from them. I learned a lot about what makes a successful small town from Mineola. So thanks, and I really enjoyed the Hwy. 80 Garage Sale. See you next year, East Texas, or before if I need another fix!

Happy 25th Anniversary--Q & A with Debbie Macomber

Michele Dunaway says: Thanks to Ann Roth for securing the following interview from Debbie and for yesterday agreeing to host Barbara Bretton in her blog spot. Thanks Ann. You're tops.

Here we go!

Author: Debbie Macomber
Website: http://www.debbiemacomber.com/

Bio: Debbie Macomber, the author of BACK ON BLOSSOM STREET, SUSANNAH’S GARDEN, A GOOD YARN, THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET, BETWEEN FRIENDS and the Cedar Cove series, is one of today’s leading voices in women’s fiction. A regular on every major bestseller list with more than 100 million copies of her books in print, the award-winning author celebrated a new career milestone in September 2007, when the latest in her Cedar Cove series, 74 SEASIDE AVENUE, scored #1 on the NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly and Bookscan bestseller lists. Her popularity is worldwide with her books translated into twenty-three languages.

Debbie loves to tell the story of her struggle to get published, and the five-year search to find a publisher who would buy one of her manuscripts. Dyslexic and the mother of four young children, she wrote those early books in her kitchen on a rented typewriter. But her hard work and determination paid off. Her first manuscript, HEARTSONG, acquired by Silhouette Books in 1982, became the first category romance ever to be reviewed by the Publishers Weekly. She was soon featured in Newsweek—and demand for her books quickly exceeded her wildest dreams.

Debbie is best known for her ability to create compelling characters and bring their stories to life in her books. Drawing on her own experiences and those of her family and friends, she demonstrates an almost uncanny ability to see into the souls of women and to express their emotions, values and concerns. In every book her sense of humor enlivens her writing.

An avid knitter, Debbie has parlayed her passion for the craft into garments for her grandchildren and bestselling books about women who knit. In her May 2007 hardcover, BACK ON BLOSSOM STREET, which debuted in the #8 slot on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list, Debbie welcomed back some familiar faces and introduced her readers to delightful new characters in the Seattle neighborhood introduced in THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET. There, the author continued her moving exploration of complex relationships and the special bonds formed by a group of diverse women who meet in knitting classes and face the challenges in their lives. The next book in the series, TWENTY WISHES, will be published in May 2008.

In 2005 Debbie’s dedication to the writing craft—and to her loyal readers—brought her the first-ever “people’s choice” Quill Award for Romance for 44 CRANBERRY POINT, the fourth book in her highly popular Cedar Cove series.

The author is delighted that her readers respond personally to her books. She maintains a 75,000-name (and growing) list derived from personal correspondence from her fans, those who have come to her book signings held in bookstores across the country and those who have signed her guestbook at http://www.debbiemacomber.com/.

A typical day in the life of Debbie Macomber begins long before the sun comes up. Rising at 4 a.m., she uses those early hours as a time to reflect, write in her journal, read inspirational materials and organize her schedule. At 6 a.m. she swims half a mile in a local Olympic-size pool. By 7:30 a.m. she’s already at work in her office, devoting her day to her true calling: writing novels. Readers around the world clamor for her heartwarming books about small-town life, home and family, women who knit, enduring friendship and even stories of humorous angels with earthly missions.

In 2008, Leisure Arts, the company that publishes “Knit Along with Debbie” pattern booklets, will introduce Debbie’s line of knitting notions. All Debbie’s proceeds from the sale of the products will go to knitting charities and World Vision.

When Debbie takes a break from her writing, knitting and charity work, she likes to throw herself into research for upcoming novels. She’s willing to try anything and go anywhere. In fact, she overcame her natural sense of caution to take kayaking lessons so that one of her heroines could benefit from the experience. Recently, she threw out the first pitch in a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field.

Debbie and her husband, Wayne, are the proud parents of four children and grandparents of nine grandchildren. They live in Washington State and winter in Florida.

Q & A:


WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST BOOK AND FOR WHAT LINE?
My first published book was Starlight (Silhouette Special Edition, #128) in November, 1983. My first Harlequin title was The Matchmakers, published in 1986. It’s being reissued in March of next year.

WHO WROTE SERIES ROMANCE IN THE EARLY YEARS OF YOUR CAREER? WHAT DID YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING AND MOST REWARDING WRITING FOR A HARLEQUIN LINE?
Janet Dailey was writing then, and I loved her books. I also liked a number of the British (and Australian authors), like Anne Mather, Margaret Way, Violet Winspear, Charlotte Lamb. I wanted my books to be as engaging and heartwarming as theirs. The most challenging aspect was trying to break into Harlequin and Silhouette lines when they already had so many talented writers. The most rewarding was when I did!

WHAT DID YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WRITING THE WYOMING KID FOR THE AMERICAN LINE?
Writing The Wyoming Kid (HAR 1121) was a nice break from the lengthy women’s fiction novel I’d been working on prior to that. I enjoyed returning to the characters I’d first introduced in a Special Edition, Denim and Diamonds, years before. Readers had asked for the heroine’s brother’s story, and I decided this was the opportunity to tell it. I particularly enjoyed the character of Lonny Ellison and the banter between him and the heroine, Joy. And I liked the emphasis on place—in this story, the ranching community of Red Springs, Wyoming—which I know is a hallmark of American Romance .

HOW WAS THE HARLEQUIN AMERICAN LINE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER LINES OR YOUR OTHER BOOKS?
Frankly, it wasn’t that different from other series books I’ve written, in that I was able to include a comedic element as well as a dramatic one. Obviously, given the shorter word length compared to my MIRA titles, The Wyoming Kid was a less complex story but it’s one that really appealed to me.

DESCRIBE A MOMENT YOU REMEMBER RELATED TO A HARLEQUIN OR SILHOUETTE ROMANCE LINE.
One letter I received from a reader years ago said, “I’ll buy anything that has your name on it, so thank you, Betty, for writing such wonderful books.” I realized the reader had confused me with Betty Neels, but I wasn’t disturbed by the mistake and, in fact, considered it a compliment.


WHAT ROMANCE HERO ARCHETYPE IS YOUR FAVORITE?
Gee, I don’t really know. I create the hero who best fits the story. Plot and character are, of course, interdependent. Lonny, the former rodeo cowboy known as the Wyoming Kid, was the right hero for that story and that heroine (and she was equally right for him). I would by no means describe him as an “alpha male,” but he’s a competent and confident man—until he falls in love!

DESCRIBE DEBBIE MACOMBER’S TYPICAL WORK DAY
Well, this is my life when I’m writing and trying to meet deadlines, not when I’m traveling or on tour.
4 a.m. Up and out of bed
4-5:30 Bible reading, devotional and journal time
5:30-7 Swimming
7:30 Arrive at office
7:30-10 Read Guest Box entries, reader mail and blog
10-4 (Approximately) Work (If I’m writing a book, I always set myself a certain number of pages to complete each day. I stay at the office until I’m finished and then head home.)
5-9 (Approximately) Dinner, knitting, reading and then to bed

Hmm. Sounds rather boring now that I look at it.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
I’m currently working on the 2009 Cedar Cove title, 92 Pacific Boulevard, and on the Cedar Cove Cookbook (and gaining weight just thinking about the recipes!). In the next month, I have trips planned to New York, California and Leavenworth (the one in Washington, not the prison town!).

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SAY TO THE READERS AND WRITERS READING THIS INTERVIEW?
To all the readers, I’d like to say that these books come from some of the best writers in the industry. In the years since its inception, Harlequin American has grown and changed—and attracted some very fine writers. To the writers, I’d like to say—keep up the good work. Happy Birthday, American Romance!

More with launch author Barbara Bretton

For the first part of the feature on launch author Barbara Bretton, please see October 12.

Photos--

Top: Barbara says, "The badly edited picture is the Big Dinner invitation to celebrate HAR's launch. The venue was changed to Sign of the Dove. Elda Minger and I shared a cab with Sandra Brown who was then and is now one of the nicest (and most beautiful) women I've ever met. Elda writes for Harlequin and Berkley these days and I can say quite honestly that I wouldn't have survived that first big conference and the launch without her friendship."

Center 1: Vivian Stephens, the creator of Harlequin American.

Center 2: This is the "command invitation" Barbara received to a business meeting that will remain burned in her memory forever. She wrote: "When they locked the doors behind us and said, 'You don't need an agent,' at least thirty un-agented writers made plans to immediately connect with representation. I was agented seventy-two hours later!"

Bottom: A photo of the original oil painting for The Sweetest of Debts, Barbara's second book.


Q & A:

1) How long have you been published? What was your very first book?
Twenty-five years this year. My first book was LOVE CHANGES, a launch title for Harlequin American.

2) Describe your favorite Harlequin American Romance(s) that you wrote. How many total did you do?
My favorite was SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, one of the Century of American Romances (known as Nostalgia books at the time.) It dealt with the home front during World War II and remains one of the most perfect writing experiences of my life.

3) How was the Harlequin American Romance line different from the other Harlequin lines?
American was an anomaly at the time. We were dealing with a kind of romantic reality that didn't exist anywhere else in the early 1980s. Beta heroes, flawed heroines, characters who went to the supermarket and struggled to pay bills, and even had other lovers in their past. It all sounds kind of ho-hum from our 21st century perspective, but trust me, it was news back then.

4) How did the Harlequin American Romances line change over the years you wrote for it?
As a writer, I loved the more realistic focus but we were out-glitzed by Loveswept and Intimate Moments, both of which launched the same time we did. They provided larger than life romances while we provided slice of life. Our readers loved us but we didn't have as many of them as we (or Harlequin, for that matter) wanted so the changes began. The heroes became sexier. The heroines, less flawed. I was able to introduce action into the books with my PAX series of "spy" novels (PLAYING FOR TIME was the first). Then the doors blew wide open and HAR became the home for romantic comedies, dramas, even paranormal titles. Dallas Schulze (a good friend) wrote a book about a genie! I wrote about an invisible man. Anne Stuart wrote about absolutely everything! And there's Cathy Gillen Thacker, whose romantic comedies and warm family stories have become a mainstay at American over the years.

5) Has writing for Harlequin American help you in your single-title career? (or where have you gone since HAR)
Did writing for HAR help me in my single-title career? Let me count the ways! Category teaches you discipline, pacing, the importance of characters a reader can identify with on page one.
The phrase "breaking out" as applied to moving from category to single title has always bothered me. The implication is that category is some kind of jail from which a writer needs to escape. I moved away from category because writing longer was my natural voice and always had been. I had to work harder than most to make sure I concentrated on the romance between the hero and heroine and not veer off into one of those tempting sub-plots. Except for a half-dozen Janet Daileys, I had never read a category when I sold my first book to Vivian but that quickly changed and I was hooked.

I still come up with category ideas that I don't have time to pursue. I still love and respect the genre. Everything I know about writing popular fiction I learned while writing category. It needs no validation from me or anyone else. It's a great place to start, a great place to be, and a great place to stay.

Instead of asking us when we're going to break out, our critics should be asking themselves how they can break in.

6). Describe a moment you remember related to Harlequin American Romance, either reading one, or a fan moment, or an editor moment, or….

I've told this many times but here we go:

Mary was my very first not-related-to-me reader. She sent me my very first fan letter back in March 1983. (You'll have to excuse the number of times I use the word "first" in this post but there's no way around it. It was a time of firsts for me.)
Let me set the stage. LOVE CHANGES was one of the launch books for Harlequin American and had come out in Reader Service but was still a few weeks from hitting the book stores. I was published . . . but not really. Somewhere out there I hoped people were reading me but if they were they were being very quiet about it.

We were living in North Babylon on Long Island at the time and every morning I would drop my husband off at the LIRR station in Babylon then stop by the post office at Sunset City (a strip mall on Deer Park Avenue with, among other delights, a video store and the wonderful Italian Food World) and check my PO box for mail. I don't really know what I was expecting but I was a brand new author and hope truly springs eternal. So can you imagine my absolute shock when I unlocked the box that morning in late March of '83 and found one small letter waiting for me!

It was from Mary Preisinger who was living in West Islip at the time, written in bright green ink, and her words made me cry. "I loved your book," she wrote. "Reading it took me back to the time when my husband was still alive and we would drive out to Montauk and walk the beach. Thank you for giving me back those memories."

I'm telling you winning the Pulitzer Prize (For romance? Not likely!) or hitting the New York Times could not have made me happier than that one small letter did. My words had touched a stranger's heart! It was the most amazing, wonderful, powerful, exhilarating experience of my life.

Now here's where it gets a wee bit weird. I turned into a stalker. Not in a bad way (don't all stalkers say that?) but West Islip was just one town over and I was really, really thrilled about my fan letter so I ran home, looked Mary's phone number up in the directory and called her. I know I should be embarrassed but I'm not. I didn't know a thing about author etiquette back then. I definitely didn't have a clue about how to be cool. I just did what my heart told me to do and thank God! That impulsive phone call resulted in a twenty-five year friendship that enriched my life in ways I can't begin to count. She knitted some gorgeous afghans for me. I fumbled my way through shawls and lap robes for her.

Mary and I talked like old friends. She invited me to visit her one day for lunch and I did. Over the years we shared books and laughter, secrets and tears. I moved to central NJ. She moved to Salem, Massachusetts, then back to Long Island and then finally to Ohio. But we never lost touch. Not for a minute.

Mary's death this spring was a tremendous loss.

7) Do you hear from your Harlequin American readers who have also read your single titles or other works? What do they say?
Not too often. It's been ten years since my last American but when I do hear from a reader who remembers my time there, they're usually writing about SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, my 1940s book for Century of American Romance. My category readership was separate from my time travel readership which was separate from my single title readership. I'm not sure why it happened that way for me but it did.

8) Harlequin American Romance is 25 years old. Describe writing some of the first books for the line. Were there any taboos? Words you couldn’t use? What were the covers like? That sort of thing….
We didn't write on proposal back in the beginning. We sent in completed manuscripts and crossed our fingers. Initially, babies and children weren't welcome in the books. I think Anne McAllister was the first to break that particular taboo. My first book (LOVE CHANGES) featured a heroine who was sterile and remained so. No miracle pregnancy happy ending. Probably not the wisest choice from a sales standpoint but Vivian gave me free rein and the writer in me was delighted.

Our covers were elegant and understated in a time when flashy and sexy was coming into its own. Our books were more realistic in a time when larger than life was taking over the entertainment world. This was the DYNASTY/DALLAS era so you can understand we were definitely bucking the trend set by Intimate Moments and Loveswept. We were the underdog, the one who metaphorically hung on by the skin of our teeth but now, twenty-five years later, look who's still standing!!

9) Anything else?
American launched back in the era of Editors as Stars and Vivian was the Star of Stars. It's been twenty-five years but her advice (not to mention her charisma!) still resonates.

"Run your own race. This isn't a contest to reach the finish line first. Work at your own speed and don't apologize."

"Your readers will find you. They may not be as many as Writer X or Writer Y enjoys but they'll be yours. Don't disappoint them."

She believed that where you came from informed your work in ways that I'd never thought about. I mean, I was a working class kid from Queens, living in a working class suburb on Long Island. What could my experience possibly bring to a romance novel? Vivian's guidance led me to find out.


She asked me a question early on in my career. A simple question but probably the most important one I've ever been asked. "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

I didn't have to think about my answer. "Still writing," I said.

And I am.

Thanks, Vivian

And now, Michele Dunaway notes: Thanks Barbara! Readers, stay tuned to tomorrow, when we'll feature Debbie Macomber's thoughts!