By Louise Allen
July 30th, 2010
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I would love to travel in time, but somehow my thoughts about it have always been about specific events I would like to witness. The other weekend I had two experiences which reminded me that history is multi-dimensional, that the world around us is made up of all the complex layers of the past and the present.
And the best thing was that both experiences were such fun!
The first was all about getting my hands on history. The River Thames is still tidal at London and when there is a very low tide there are wide areas of foreshore exposed. These are a goldmine for archaeologists and are carefully preserved. Anyone who reads Dickens will be delighted to know that the people licensed for digging and metal detecting are still called mudlarks. The rest of us can only pick up what we can find on the surface.
Once a year, when the tide is very low, archaeologists hold supervised days for the public to search and are on hand to identify finds. Even better, the foreshore that is open is right in front of the Tower of London and in the shadow of Tower Bridge: there is nothing quite like the thrill of finding a piece of Tudor pottery, looking up and finding you are right next to Traitor’s Gate!
But the real revelation was finding such a huge range of dates represented in the pieces I was picking up. The Museum of London archaeologist took the pick of my crop for further investigation (I felt very proud of that!) although I will get them back eventually.
They don’t look much in this picture but these four fragments are, clockwise from the top – Part of a little Roman statuette – can you make out the legs?; part of the handle of a Tudor pot of a kind they could not recognise on the spot; the rim of a Roman mortarium – a kind of bowl – and the least interesting piece at first sight, the mottled black shard, is Saxon and very rare.
Then there were pieces of shoe leather, still with their stitching holes in – 18thc, I was told; piles of clay pipe stems and bowls; the bottoms of thick 18thc bottles; ships’ nails slag from the 1803 foundry that had been on the quayside – all  mixed up together, 2,000 years of history.
One lucky searcher found a tiny Roman finger ring, another some Charles II coins, so small they looked like sequins – we were all jealous, but we all loved our own finds too.
Then the next day I went to English Heritage’s Festival of History where re-enactors from periods ranging from the Romans to the Second World War gather together.

 I had gone to look at the soldiers from the Peninsula War and Waterloo, and they were fascinating, but what struck me so strongly was the way these accurately-costumed people were mingling and mixing, just as the finds on the foreshore were all mixed up together.
There was a Boer War sergeant discussing backpacks with a Peninsula Rifleman, there were Vikings comparing swords with Normans and a medieval housewife talking to a nineteenth century shopkeeper about making wax candles. Then amongst the stalls I could discuss the merits of a 14thc travelling cloak with a Cavalier or admire some of the real weapons used in the Sharpe films.
And on one stall, belonging to a potter who makes accurate replicas for museums and filming, I found reproductions of things I had been digging up pieces of only the day before! Of course, I had to buy a little Bellamine jug and a 17thc green mottled one – and here they are with some pieces of the real thing.

I finished the weekend with muddy shoes, ruined fingernails, an empty wallet and positively tingling with excitement. What brings home the past to you? Objects? Re-enactments? Original documents? Letters and diaries? I’d love to know.

By AR Fun
July 29th, 2010
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About the Book

Book Two in the Masters of Sin series.

Troi and Amun—one dominant, the other submissive, both alpha—are possessed by the spirit of Lust. Its dark demands have tested their will every minute of every day for centuries. And they’ve committed deviant, selfish acts to satisfy its unrelenting carnal hunger. But the guilt doesn’t overwhelm them until they meet Oriel. She is their salvation, their peace. They need her. But they don’t deserve her.

Life’s lessons have taught Oriel not to trust anyone, especially gorgeous men who will use anyone for their own satisfaction. Granted, they’re sexy. Charming. Her body responds to their every look and touch. But she can’t—won’t—take a chance on them. Until she realizes she can run away, but she can’t escape from the emotions they stir.

As darkness closes in, Troi and Amun’s lives, and souls, hang in the balance. The beast will consume them if Oriel can’t accept her own dark needs and trust the two men who have stirred the decadent desires within her.

Note: This book contains same-gender sex, group sex, and various and sundry other deliciously wicked acts, committed by two very naughty boys.

By Tawny Taylor

· Ellora’s Cave
· July 2010
· ISBN: 9781419929106

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By Julia Justiss
July 28th, 2010
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Just about everyone has experienced the giddy, floating on air, top-of-the-world euphoria of falling in love.  The joy and anticipation that surges up in the soul each morning when you wake and first remember why you are so happy.  The vibrant expectation when you can’t wait to see what comes next and are absolutely convinced it will be something good.  When you can’t wait to see him/her again, greedy for the fire in their touch, convinced you can never have enough of it; the feeling that you can see your whole world when you look in their eyes.

That’s why we read romance, after all:  to live that magic again through our hero and heroine.  But even as we revel in it, we know that the very power of the feeling means it cannot last.  First love will segue into lasting love, less intense but no less rich, a calm confidence and inner serenity that will carry you for a lifetime, with occasional flashes back to the heady excitement of the first few days.

Most joyous events are like that:  the rush of pleasure and excitement of the first occurrence is never quite matched again.

But for writers, there’s one thrill that never fades:  seeing your book on the shelf for the first time.  What started as a hazy idea, refined through weeks or months of thought and struggle, returned to you one or several times with editor’s notes for revision…when that idea finally takes shape as something you can hold in our hand, with pages you can flip through, there’s an awe and satisfaction nothing else approaches.

My very first book, THE WEDDING GAMBLE, had a bright pink background on which the hero, down on one knee, is proposing to the heroine, seated before him on a sofa.  I’m not a pink kind of girl, but the color “carries” in a store; you really notice the book from a distance when it’s face-out on a shelf.  The portrait of the hero was spot-on for Nicholas and Sarah looked right, too.

There was a shock of recognition—I know these people!  They’ve lived in my head for years!  I opened it and smoothed back the pages, almost with a sense of reverence, almost unbelieving that here were my words, printed on the pages of a book.  For one who counted among her happiest childhood memories the day she got her first library card, the moment was almost indescribable:  I had created a book.

I’ll get to experience that thrill again very soon, when my August release, THE SMUGGLER AND THE SOCIETY BRIDE, hits the stores.  This cover, too, has some mauvy pink in its background and the color of hero Gabe’s waistcoat (he’s man enough to carry it off) and once again, Gabe’s portrait matches the image in my head of him.  I’ll pick up a copy and smooth back the pages and see my words come to life…as a book.

But the thrill of viewing a creation isn’t unique to writers; I expect it must be the same for everyone who carries something born as an idea through all the stages of work necessary to bring it to completion: a chef, a cabinet maker, a needleworker, a painter, a seamstress.  When the project is finally done, able to be smelled and tasted, its drawers opened and used, ready to be placed on a chair or hung on a wall or worn, there must be that same thrill of satisfaction, one that returns each time the creator looks upon that creation.

What special project gives you a thrill when you view it or use it, finished and complete?  Share your story!  Two responders will receive copies of SMUGGLER AND THE SOCIETY BRIDE.

By AR Fun
July 27th, 2010
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About the Book

He’s no fairy-tale prince. But he just may be the hero she needs.

Ren has always danced along the fine line between being a little bit crazy and being overcome by a darkness that’s haunted him since his mortal days. As an empath, he prefers to live far from people who would leak their emotions all over him, so he’s not expecting the woman who drives right into the heart of his wood. She has a cursed book with her and demons hot on her heels. Even more surprising are her abilities and the reaction Ren has to her.

Aileas is on the run. She just isn’t certain if she’s running from something real or imagined. One thing is for sure, her brother is dead and she’s certain the book she found has something to do with his death. She really starts to doubt her sanity when she meets a hot but somewhat crazed man in the middle of nowhere.

He calls himself Ren, and although he doesn’t seem to be out to hurt her, he definitely wants something. She just doesn’t understand what. She does know what she wants though. She wants him, and the shadows and darkness she glimpses inside him don’t matter. At least, right up until he claims to be a guardian angel.

And she thought she was going crazy.

By Shiloh Walker

· Samhaim Publishing
· July 2010
· ISBN: 9781609280796

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By HelenKay Dimon
July 26th, 2010
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I am a homebody. I love my house and happen to live in a vacation destination (San Diego), so traveling isn’t a necessity for me these days. Elaborate vacations are fun, and I’ve been lucky to go on a few (thank you to my in-laws who live in Hawaii for some of that), but staying at home is fine with me.

Despite my hang-at-home preference, I do try to go to a few writing conferences each year. For something like eight years in a row I’ve attended the Romance Writers of America conference. This year it’s in Orlando. It will be hot and muggy and I won’t even notice because I’ll be inside. My schedule is full. I’m meeting with my editors, my agent and some friends. I’ll attend some workshops, drink too much coffee, stay up too late and eat bad food.

Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Here’s the list of things I hope not to do:

1. Accidentally spit out food or drink when speaking to an author I admire.

2. Bear hug Jayne Ann Krentz, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Linda Howard or any of the other authors who hooked me on romance reading. Though I will want to. Totally.

3. Trip over something or someone.

4. Forget to put on my pants before leaving my room. [This is my recurring anxiety nightmare]

One of my favorite parts of the conference is the HUGE literacy signing. If you haven’t been there, imagine a room full of 500 authors sitting at tables with books piled in front of them and just waiting for you to come up and say hello. It’s an awesome sight. Sitting in that room is humbling. It’s also great fun. I like to walk around the literacy signing tables and checks out all the pretty covers. I plan to grab some books this year. Specifically, I’m hoping for early copies of books by Maya Banks (The Darkest Hour), Monica McCarty (The Hawk) and a few others. Yeah, I know they probably won’t be out yet, but I can hope.

Does anyone have any suggestions of books I should grab/authors I should try to meet at the literacy signing? Is there an author you’ve always wanted to meet?

By Guest Blogger
July 23rd, 2010
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by guest blogger Katharine Ashe

Etienne’s eyes blazed with heat. His fingers twisted in her hair, pulling her head back until he looked down at her.

His gaze scraped across her face, her eyes and lips, cheeks and brow. His head bent closer and she struggled for breath. …

Prisoner aboard a pirate ship, Lady Valerie Monroe—the heroine of my debut historical romance, SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS—believes her fellow captive is a Frenchman and a priest. After a scandalous youth, Valerie has vowed to reform. But when the intoxicatingly handsome Etienne sets his golden gaze upon her, the wanton within her awakes. But Valerie doesn’t want to be that woman any longer. More than anything she longs for love.

A wise, silver-haired man once told me that humans have three basic needs. Not the food-and-shelter kind of need. Deep needs: to be loved, to have a purpose in life, and to be known for who we really are.

At the time I had a mere twenty-two years to my wise friend’s seventy, and I didn’t understand him entirely. I thought I needed a lot. A good job. A terrific apartment. Cute dates. Crazy-fun weekends. A car that didn’t break down every three weeks. Roommates that cleaned up after themselves. Reasonable needs, right?

Or reasonable desires? See, my wise friend’s message got to me. A few years of growing up later, I started figuring out what I really needed. And it came down to those three basic things.

For the first one, I sort of turned it around. I loved. The nifty thing, of course, is when you give love you get it back in spades. Luckily I figured that one out quick.

The second took a little more time. As a professional historian, I cared deeply about teaching, but less so about writing books on my research specialty. It’s worthy work in the hands of some, but it didn’t satisfy me. I had always found true joy spinning tales of love, so I turned my pen toward that more diligently.

Which led to a little problem with number three. I am now two people, a history professor and a romance author. I keep these lives largely separate. In fact, most of my colleagues in academia don’t have any idea that I write fiction.

So who am I truly?

As crazy at it sounds, my hero, Steven Ashford, helped me with that one. A black-sheep English lord, he dons disguises in order to defeat a dangerous enemy. Steven has a noble mission and nothing can stand in his way, not even the irresistible beauty imprisoned with him aboard ship. But Valerie has a little something to teach the dashing adventurer. Loving—seeking and giving everything for others—makes us who we are. In a way Steven has known this his whole life. But he doesn’t completely realize it until, with Valerie, he finally longs to be… himself.

I’m not two people any more than Steven is. No matter how many identities we have to the world, the heart knows only one.

Who are you—writer, lawyer, tech genius, student, best friend, mom, wife? Tell us about your multiple identities! I’ll give away a copy of SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS (available this Tuesday, July 27) to one commenter! Don’t forget to include your email address so I can contact you if you win.

By AR Fun
July 22nd, 2010
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About the Book

ELAINA MCCORD WANTS TO FIND A KILLER. BUT HE’S ALREADY FOUND HER.
Elaina McCord’s dream of being an FBI profiler is threatened by her very first case—investigating a string of murders near a Texas beach resort. The victims, all young women, were drugged and brutally murdered, their bodies abandoned in desolate marshland. Elaina’s hunch—met with disbelief by local police—is that these are only the latest offerings from a serial killer who has been perfecting his art for years, growing bolder and more cunning with each strike.

True-crime writer Troy Stockton has a reputation as an irresistible playboy who gets his story at any cost. He’s the last person Elaina should trust, let alone be attracted to. But right now Troy, along with the elite team of forensics experts known as the Tracers, is her only ally in a case that’s turning dangerously personal. A killer is reaching out to Elaina, taunting her, letting her know how ruthless he is and how close he’s getting. Now it’s not just her career that’s in jeopardy—it’s her life. . . .

By Laura Griffin

· Pocket Books
· July 2010
· ISBN: 1439152950

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