Why community is key to contemporary romance – and giveaway!

“In contemporaries, community is key,” Selina McLemore, Senior Editor at Grand Central Publishing, told me at the Romance Writers of America national conference last week. It makes sense, right? Those of us who love contemporary romance fall for books set in a particular town or city that feels as fleshed out as the hero and… Continue reading Why community is key to contemporary romance – and giveaway!

Pride and joy in New York City

For those of us who spend our lives writing about and celebrating love, commitment and equality, this has been a beautiful weekend in New York. The Marriage Equality Act passed two days ago. Today New York City celebrated during the Pride parade. The mood was jubilant, and the joy on people’s faces was almost overwhelming.… Continue reading Pride and joy in New York City

The coolest animals in romance

A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream about my parents’ dog, Gina. In my dream, she was no longer an elderly, arthritic, deaf, incontinent, grumpy mutt with only one eye (and it blind). She transformed into the enthusiastic puppy she’d been when I first bought her for my parents to help my dad… Continue reading The coolest animals in romance

Becoming pitch perfect

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up to take part in Savvy Authors‘ Pitch Practice Week (seriously, if you’re not a savvy author already, go join now! So many fantastic resources and opportunities). We were invited over to Pitch University, a site dedicated to helping authors learn how to pitch. The amazing Diane Holmes,… Continue reading Becoming pitch perfect

Checking in with 2011 goals

We’re now officially half-way through 2011, which hardly seems possible. Wasn’t it Christmas a few weeks ago? Didn’t I just sit down to write my goals for the year? Back in January, I told you all about my goals for this year in the belief that making them public would make me more accountable. I… Continue reading Checking in with 2011 goals