by Dianne Castell

I loooove Christmas! Okay, sometimes it can be a total pain in the neck getting there with gifts to buy, things to decorate and baking and cards to mail. But even with all that going on there’s that hint of magic. Everyone has that glow, something special’s going on. I guess that’s why there are so many engagements announced. How can two people in love resist not shouting it to the world! Well, I have two Christmas anthologies out that do just that.

In The Morgue the Merrier (Kensington Zebra) Rosemary Laurey, Karen Kelly and I wanted to write three connecting Christmas stories. And we wanted to create a little unique Christmas magic all our own. What better place to have a Christmas story than in Christmastown, in a wild snow storm and with three ghosts…ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future…to reunite three couples made for each other. We could have made this a sweet dreamy picture-perfect Christmas town but opted for the cheese. Reindeer on the roofs, Santas with gyrating Elvis hips, elves in trains and a bazillion lights everywhere. This Christmastown is just the place to escape from the everyday ho-hum of life, have tons of fun and bring lovers together forever.

In I’m Your Santa (Kensington BRAVA) Lori Foster, Karen Kelly and I give a gift to our readers by revisiting characters from past books. We all get letters asking what happened to one character or another so in I’m Your Santa we did just that. For my story it’s back to O’Fallon’s Landing and a visit with LuLu Cahill who wants to be anywhere but Home for Christmas. And then there’s Sebastian, a soldier on leave, left at the alter and facing a bed and breakfast full of relatives expecting a Christmas Eve wedding. Sometimes going home for Christmas brings it’s own set of complications along with the fun and love of family.

I wish you all a great Christmas and holiday season and hope The Morgue the Merrier and I’m Your Santa get you in the mood. And when things don’t go as smoothly as you’d like, think of Holly and Case and LuLu and Sebastian. They found happiness and magic in the chaos and so will you.

Hugs, Dianne Castell

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by Tessa Radley

One of the motifs I wanted to explore in my Silhouette Desire miniseries, Billionaire Heirs, was the idea that men and women can sometimes be trapped in situations which they never saw coming…and once they become lost in the labyrinth the actions they take to free themselves often only result in greater mayhem. The more the hero and heroine try to find the light, the destination they think they are seeking, the harder it becomes to find the way out.

In The Kyriakos Virgin Bride, my September 2007 release, the alpha hero, Zac, is a very rich guy who can trace his ancestry all the way back to the time of the Crusaders. He has everything he needs in life…except a wife. And family legend stipulates he must marry a virgin. So what happens when Zac discovers after his wedding night that Pandora, his new wife, is not a virgin? Walk away? Except there has never been a divorce in his family. As successful as he is, Zac cannot bear the thought of being a failure. When Pandora threatens to leave, Zac sees only one course of action: abduct his wife and trap her on his private island, until he can decide what on earth he is going to do. His body wants to stay married…his mind knows it’s not possible. While a furious Pandora is physically trapped on the remote, beautiful island…it’s Zac who caught in the trap of his upbringing, the expectations his family and society. And of course, the only way that either of them will free themselves is to sacrifice themselves to love.

Zac’s cousin, Angelo, the hero of The Apollonides Mistress Scandal (October 2007) owns several islands where he has established very sophisticated resorts. Gemma, the heroine, searches him out. But she’s trapped in a world of guilt after the suicide of her identical twin sister, Mandy. And she blames Angelo for her twin’s death. She wants to know what happened, and initially she intends to make him pay. But it’s not so easy. The more badly she thinks of Angelo, the more bitter vengeance makes her, the more miserable she becomes as the attraction between them grows. An attraction Gemma knows is doomed, because she has deceived Angelo—he thinks she is Mandy. Gemma can see no way out of the maze she has created. While Angelo is caught in the snare of his own preconceptions. Mandy betrayed him once, how can he trust her not do so again?

In the final book of the trilogy, The Desert Bride of Al Zayed, Jayne escaped the trap that her marriage to Sheik Tariq Al Zayed had become amid palace intrigue and the machinations of her powerful father-in-law. More than five years have passed and she’s now legally entitled to her divorce. She intends to come back to the sheikdom, secure her divorce, then she’ll be free. Forever. Except Tariq is trapped by circumstance. His father is dying—and wants to see Tariq happily married before he passes away. And then there’s the blazing passion that burns between Tariq and Jayne…will either of them ever be free of that?

It was a challenge to explore the emotions of the six main characters in the three books. I enjoyed using the geographical landscape as part of the motif…the islands in the first two books, the wide bleak desert in the final book—all places that exacerbated the confinement and confusion that the characters were experiencing. In the end, only when each pair of lovers succumb to love can they find the freedom and peace that they seek.

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by Denise A. Agnew

As we head into fall, it’s still warm…uh…hot in the desert southwest. Yet not so long from now, I’ll be enjoying my favorite month of the year. October. During this month I always remember the far off places I’ve had the good fortune to see, and the wonderful inspiration I discovered in this glorious places. Today I thought I’d share but a tiny glimpse into these adventures.

My bio mentions that archaeology creeps into my work from the fact that I’ve been an amateur archaeologist since 1985. Most of my excavation and site survey work happened in Colorado. One adventure in archaeology occurred at Hovenweep, Utah. Fierce wind, flying dust, and long hikes dominated that Memorial Day trip. We even woke up to snow one morning. It was my one and only tent camping experience. I know I’m a wuss. Nevertheless, archaeology found its way into my novels PRIMORDIAL (Ellora’s Cave), SHADOWS AND RUINS (Ellora’s Cave), FOREVERMORE (out of print), and UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER (coming up in October ’07 from Samhain Publishing.) I’ve managed to sprinkle it into other books as well.

While I wouldn’t call myself a world traveler, touring Britain and Ireland seemed to launch some of the most creative inspirations I’ve ever experienced. In 1983 I lived a dream come true. I’d wanted to see Ireland all my life, and I was able to travel for nine days from coast-to-coast and absorb memories that will stay with me forever. I’ve always adored castles, and Ireland is full of them, of course. One of the most authentic experiences I had was at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. To this day I affectionately refer to this hulking edifice as “Ratty Buns.” Castles like Bunratty assisted my inspiration years later when I wrote my reincarnation novel FOREVERMORE. Also an inspiration for this novel was the haunting Rock of Cashel in Tipperary, Ireland.

Even today Ireland is inspiring me; the round houses I viewed in Crannog gave me ideas for my heroine’s abode in my current work in progress set in Roman Britain.

When I heard in ’95 that the U.S. Army was transferring us to England, I almost screamed with joy. I’d always, always wanted to see Britain…Scotland in particular. Was I lucky lady or what? We lived in England for three years, and my productivity and creativity seemed to be at a triple high point. While visiting Windsor Castle one October day, I was hit with an idea for a time travel that I eventually set in 1318 Scotland. That story, BRIDGE THROUGH THE MIST, is being reissued by Ellora’s Cave in November 2007. Wish I had a cover for you already. Keep your eyes peeled on my website for a cover, blurb and excerpts.

Even the village next to where I lived (see my lovely little house picture) inspired me with its typical village high street, ancient abbey, beautiful churches and cobblestone streets. Walking along the Great Whyte Road in Ramsey on a cold, cold October morning would bring images to mind for the next story. Cool, foggy days seemed to surround me with the quiet, the atmosphere I needed to begin my story on Jack The Ripper (MIDNIGHT ROSE) and other stories with a paranormal slant.

Beyond living in places that gave me inspiration, I find these days that people are also giving me ideas for new stories. My experiences with the military introduced me to many intriguing characters, and my profound respect for our military continues to inspire me to write stories like those featured in my HOT ZONE series. MALE CALL, the first story in this series, is already out with Samhain Publishing. The next installment is UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER (October ’07.) Following that will be PRIVATE MANEUVERS, CLOSE QUARTERS and MISSION: LOVE. Military or former military characters have shown up in many of my other novels, too.

I’ll be forever grateful for my travels and the vast storehouse of ideas they’ve given me. I’m planning to see Williamsburg, Virginia in ’08, yet another place I’ve always wanted to visit.

Please post your wildest or most inspiring travel experiences. Tell me about those wacky adventures! You could win the prize for my Tell Tale today. Just in time for serious Halloween reading, I’m giving away the first book in my vampire trilogy, DEEP IS THE NIGHT: DARK FIRE.

Thanks so much for sharing just a tip of the iceberg with me in my many travels. It’s always a pleasure.

Denise A. Agnew
Step off the edge…
Into dark, delicious adventure…
www.deniseagnew.com

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by Elizabeth Hoyt

I believe that fairytales can be windows into our collective psyche. They’re storytelling at its most basic. In a fairytale there is no room for character development. Dialogue, setting, and description are all very sketchy. What remains are stories in which the fat has been removed; underneath are bare, beautiful bones in which it’s easy to trace motif, themes, and morality—especially morality.

In each of my two previous books, The Raven Prince (11/06) and The Leopard Prince (4/07), I’ve used a fairytale as a way of highlighting and mirroring the main story. In my third book, The Serpent Prince (on sale this month) I do so again.

The hero of The Serpent Prince, Simon Iddesleigh, Viscount Iddesleigh, tells the fairytale to the heroine, Lucy Craddock-Hayes. Throughout The Serpent Prince, Simon is pursuing a course of revenge—he’s challenging his enemies to duels—which makes him deeply ambivalent about accepting Lucy’s love. He doesn’t believe he deserves her love. When you read The Serpent Prince, watch how Simon tells the fairytale to Lucy—and how Lucy reacts. The fairytale he’s telling is a basic one about a goat girl who gains power over a shape-shifting magician by stealing his serpent skin.

Now, if you know anything about fairytales, you should be able to figure out how the story ends. The goat girl asks three wishes of the serpent prince magician, he grants them, and she wins the love of the king’s son. Simple, right? But remember that Simon is the one telling the story and he is the serpent prince. Lucy may very well not like the outcome of the story he’s telling and she’s not a woman without opinions.

One of the wonderful things about romance novels is the how they teach us to think outside the box. Very often the heroine makes a conscious decision to change her destiny, to not follow the path laid before her, to wander into the woods and greet the big bad wolf head-on. That’s the kind of fairytales I tell: the ones where the heroine decides her own fate. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

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by Jennifer LaBrecque

When I first heard that Harlequin had teamed up with NASCAR to cover romances, I thought it was a very savvy business move – I just didn’t realize I’d be one of the writers involved. I was invited to write one of the books and while I was still on the phone with the editor, the characters and the storyline popped into my head – a pampered daddy’s girl who’s always had everything handed to her on the sponsorship side and a down-to-earth rookie driver who’s fought his way up the ranks. It’s always a good thing when characters show up wanting their shot at happiness.

Now color me strange, but the other appealing factor was it had to have a romance and sexual tension, but it also had to be written at a PG-rating level. No on-page sex. No “earthy” language. And it was a longer word count than I’d ever written. Bear in mind I’d written for Duets, Temptation, and Blaze. This was an opportunity for me to write outside my norm, to tell a story that would appeal to NASCAR fans who’d perhaps never read romance before, and likewise to interest romance readers who weren’t necessarily NASCAR enthusiasts.

I hopped on-board.

And I quickly learned an important thing. You can like NASCAR racing and you can watch it but there’s a whole lot to know beyond that to write about people who live in that world because it is a world unto itself. It very quickly slapped me upside the head that I needed to do some major research.

I bought lots of books and read. The fam and I went to a race at Talladega and sat in the nosebleed section and when it got rained out on Sunday, we won the Bad Parent Award by keeping our kid out of school and going back to the Monday make-up race. It was very cool to “experience” a race at the track, although I could have definitely lived without the horrendous traffic. There’s a reason they fly the crew members in and out.

In May 2006, a group of us met in Charlotte for a tour of Roush Racing headquarters and the Lowe’s MotorSpeedway. Here we are, all assembled for dinner the night before:

What an amazing experience to go through the garages where these cars are being built and fine-tuned, to see the assembly crews at work, to realize the depth, scope and sophistication behind those Saturday and Sunday races. We also got to tour one of the haulers – those big transport vehicles that take the cars to the track. When you think garage area, grease and oil and well…dirty immediately comes to mind. Uh, no. People, we are talking pristine. You couldn’t buy a spec of dirt or oil. It was cleaner than my kitchen floor. Actually, it was probably cleaner than my kitchen table.

Then it was over to Lowe’s Motor Speedway where the Busch Series cars were practicing. It didn’t matter that we were there with NASCAR personnel. No one’s going in the in-field without registering and picking up a band at the Credentials office. Here we are sporting our wrist bands:

And who can resist the opportunity to stand in Victory Lane when the other guys have to fight it out on the track for this opportunity? Not us.

My other research trip was to Atlanta Motor Speedway in October. Fellow writer Wendy Etherington and I were lucky enough to get “cold passes” which granted us entry to the garage area and pit road until an hour before the race began and a pass to the NASCAR skybox which overlooks the start/finish line.

Here’s a pic of the crews setting up the pit boxes early in the morning:

Inside the NASCAR Nextel Cup Garage trackside:

and a crew waiting to take the car though to have it checked out by tech:

I’ll have to say the research was incredibly interesting and brought a nice authenticity to many of the scenes. When the hero or heroine is in the hauler, it’s authentic. Skybox? Check. Plus my husband and daughter were green with envy. No. I did not meet any of the drivers and that suited me just fine. Tucker Macray, the hero who is a rookie driver, is totally a person I built in my own head. He’s not based on or inspired by any driver out there. Tucker was so firmly in my head, I didn’t want to muck that up. Plus, I’m actually kind of shy. Other than “Hi, nice to meet you” I doubt I would’ve managed to say much more. And third, the kind of things I’d want to ask any of the drivers they wouldn’t want to answer because it’s the kind of “crawl into your head” stuff a writer wants to know.

But when all is said and done, it’s a love story set against a NASCAR backdrop. For two people with such different backgrounds, a stock car driver who attributes racing with literally saving his life and a pampered heiress, I really felt as if this hero and heroine were meant for each other.

I’m happy to pass along that RomanticTimes Book Club gave it a 4-star review: “Jennifer LaBrecque’s The Rookie (4) is a delightful story, in no small part because the main characters are flawed…They’re a refreshing change from the perfect cookie-cutter characters found in some stories.”

However, I’m thrilled to say that readers seem very pleased. It garnered the #3 spot on Harlequin’s Top 10 Reader’s Favorites List this week. Pardon me while I do the Snoopy Dance.

Whether you’re a race fan or a romance fan, I think you’ll enjoy The Rookie. And if you’re both…well, hey, that’s a double bonus.

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