April 4, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Historical romances use a number of methods to create the tension or obstacles to overcome on the road to love, some more predictable than others. Physical wounds from battle are a good bet for the gentlemen, along with, perhaps, childhood abuse. For the ladies, psychological damage often comes at the hands of cold or domineering parents or guardians. Sabrina Jeffries chose a more up-to-date rationale for Regina Tremaine, her heroine in To Pleasure a Prince (Pocket Star, 2005).

Having gotten the sobriquet La Belle Dame Sans Merci for refusing 11 marriage proposals, Lady Regina finds herself faci...Read More

February 19, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

 Fans of romance recognize what a wonderful genre it is, yet still acknowledge that it is subject to the same vagaries as any other type of writing. A fiction fan doesn’t love all fiction, and an avid romance reader doesn’t love all romances. But Julie Anne Long is one author to recommend to anyone who loves to read, period. Long writes predominantly historicals of the Regency era, that temptingly fascinating period at the turn of the 19th century. And her latest work for Avon, The Perils of Pleasure (a colleague hated the title, though I was less inclined to dwell on it), is marvelous.

Colin Eversea, se...Read More

February 19, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (3)

Fans of romance recognize what a wonderful genre it is, yet still acknowledge that it is subject to the same vagaries as any other type of writing. A fiction fan doesn’t love all fiction, and an avid romance reader doesn’t love all romances. But Julie Anne Long is one author to recommend to anyone who loves to read, period. Long writes predominantly historicals of the Regency era, that temptingly fascinating period at the turn of the 19th century. And her latest work for Avon, The Perils of Pleasure (a colleague hated the title, though I was less inclined to dwell on it), is marvelous.

Colin Eversea, sentence...Read More

September 6, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Back to Backpacks

Some might think that the greatest innovation in travel these days is the cell phone. In some cases, those ubiquitous little noisemakers might help facilitate some scheduling adjustments, but the true grail of travel is the backpack. And if you want to get overly reverential, the rolling backpack. Ahhh, now there is an invention worthy of all praise and honor. You can go anywhere and stay a while because just about anything you'll need (including several ounces of liquids) can be jammed into one of those many-pocketed gems and hoisted up on your back (or shoved in the overhead compartment).

And so jammed and hoisted I went over Labor Day weekend to Mountain View, CA, to see a world premier ...Read More

July 10, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Though it’s been but four years, I’m already nostalgic for my first Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference, also in "the land of big hair." Back in 2004, I was a goggled-eyed romance fan, awestruck at being in the same hotel as many of these wonderful authors, no less sitting at a luncheon table with them. Did I manage to eat one bite? But that is the beauty of RWA. Well-known, established, award-winning writers sharing their skill, knowledge, and enthusiasm with people just starting out, with women (and men) with a dream and...Read More