Today's Special - - Kieran Kramer

We're excited to welcome Kieran Kramer to The Romance Dish today! 

Double Rita®-finalist and USA Today bestseller Kieran Kramer writes Regency historical romances and now contemporary romance for St. Martin’s Press. THE EARL IS MINE, the second in her House of Brady series, is her latest release. SAY YES TO THE DUKE premiers in August 2013. SWEET TALK ME, set in present-day South Carolina, comes out in March 2014. A former CIA employee, journalist, and English teacher, Kieran’s also a game show veteran, karaoke enthusiast, and general adventurer.  She lives where she grew up--in the Lowcountry of South Carolina--with her Naval Reserve commander husband and their three children. 

Connect with Kieran online at the following locations:

Author Site: http://www.kierankramerbooks.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KieranKramer1

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kierankramer

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3452785.Kieran_Kramer

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kierankramer/

Group blog of writer moms: http://peanutbutteronthekeyboard.wordpress.com

Hi Kieran!  Welcome to the Romance Dish!  Congratulations on the release of SAY YES TO THE DUKE, the third novel in your House of Brady series.  Please share with our readers what they can expect from this book.

It’s so nice to be here! Thanks so much for hosting me. As for SAY YES TO THE DUKE, readers can expect a sexy love story about a not-so-typical hero and a middle sister—one who needs to find her own way out of the shadow of a gorgeous older sister and an adorable younger one. Is she going to say yes to the life that she’s expected to live? Or will she rebel? It’s why I chose to set the book outside of London, in the country, where Janice will feel less familiar with her surroundings.

I had a lot of fun creating the secondary characters for this story, too. And as always, I bring back some familiar faces near the end of the book. They’re all new to Luke, however, and in front of a very large audience of Brady family members, he has to confront his own demons…will he or won’t he claim what’s his?

I was a fan of the Brady Bunch television show and have been enjoying your Regency spin on the series.  Everybody I know who watched the show has a favorite character.  With which of your Brady characters do you most closely identify? 

I think I most closely identify with Jan because I’m a middle sister, too! I know everyone makes fun of her on the show because she was jealous of Marcia, but Jan is someone that I always liked. She was a good sport! And as she got older on the show, she absolutely blossomed.  

Is there a different character you wanted to be more like? 

I’ve always wanted to have the cool poise of Marcia, LOL!!! But I still wouldn’t trade her for Jan. <g>

It was a pleasure seeing you at the recent RWA conference in Atlanta.  

It was lovely to see you, too, and to be around so many women who love romance! 

Will you be anywhere else this year where readers will have the opportunity to meet you? 

Thanks so much for asking! So far all I have left in 2013 is the Lady Jane’s Salon in North Carolina. I need to find out exactly when that is, LOL! Readers can find me just about every year, too, at RWA and RT.

PJ here.  Kieran will be reading at Lady Jane's Salon RDU at 7pm, September 25th at the Hibernian Restaurant and Pub in Cary, NC.  Check the LJS website for more info.  

Authors are typically in the position of having to answer questions.  Let’s turn those tables today.  If you could ask one question of Lady Janice and Luke Callahan, what would you ask? (And, if they happen to be anywhere in the vicinity, we’d love to hear their answers!)

I’d love to ask them a question!

Hey, you two, now that you’re together, is there anything you’d change about how that came about? I mean, it’s amazing that it happened at all, considering all the things going on in your own lives at the time the book took place.

Luke: I’d change absolutely nothing. Our story unfolded as it should. We would have found each other somehow, I’m sure of it. 

Janice: (kissing his cheek) That’s very sweet of you, but think of something, darling!

Luke: (with a grin) Very well. If you insist. The only thing I’d change is how long it took me to realize that Janice is the great singer that she is. (Janice blushes hot red) It wasn’t until our honeymoon that I got to hear her. And now I can’t go a day without having her sing to me at some point. My favorite time is when we’re riding together—I’ll put her on the saddle in front of me, and she’ll sing me a ballad.  

Janice: (laughing) I do have one adoring fan, and it’s Luke.

Luke: You have far more fans than I, my dear. (leaning toward the interviewer) She’s been invited to sing in many a drawing room in London. It seems that I’m not the only one who’s been surprised by her talent. She hid it for a long while.

Janice: Only because I was shy. (laughing) But I determined after all I’d been through in our story, SAY YES TO THE DUKE, that surely I had the bravado necessary to perform before a crowd. I was such an adventuress in the story, wasn’t I, Luke?

Luke (raises her knuckles to his lips and kisses them softly): Yes, you were, and I thank God for it every day, my love.

::Sigh::

  

What’s next from Kieran Kramer?

Big news for my historical readers! I’m writing a contemporary romance called SWEET TALK ME! It takes place in South Carolina in a fictitious seaside town called Biscuit Creek. I’ve always written both contemporary and Regency, so after seven Regencies, I decided it was time to get my contemporary career going, too. It’s been fun working on something different! It comes out in March 2014.

Can't wait to read this one, especially as it takes place in my own "back yard."  :)

Do you have a question for our readers today, Kieran?

Yes! I’d like to know what’s your favorite kind of heroine? Everyone seems to focus on discussing the hero these days. But I think the heroine needs a little time in the sun! I’d love to know your thoughts. And thanks so much for joining me here today!!

Thanks, Kieran!   I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!  

Thanks so much, PJ. This was a really fun interview. I hope you and your readers have a great autumn filled with lots of good books!

CAN A SCANDALOUS BEGINNING…

Janice Sherwood wants to marry for love, but she’s failed to make a match after two Seasons. Her parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Brady, arrange to send her to the Duke of Halsey’s country estate as a short-term guest of his grandmother, the dowager, in hopes that she might win the duke’s affections. What they never could have imagined is that Janice would fall for the ruggedly handsome servant Luke, who lives in the stables and carries an air of mystery and temptation.

LEAD TO A FAIRY-TALE ENDING?

When Luke Callahan learns that he is the legitimate heir to a dukedom, he will stop at nothing to claim what is his. But first, he must begin a game of disguise to secure his rightful inheritance. Janice isn’t part of his plan. But by engaging her in this dance of deception, might he lose her forever?

BLOG TOUR GIVEAWAY

Kieran is giving away the following to one(1) lucky reader (US only)

●     A Harlequin tote bag

●     A Heroes and Heartbreakers tote bag

●     THE EARL IS MINE by Kieran Kramer

●     MIDNIGHT SPECIAL and COMING ON STRONG, (two novels in one) by Tawny Weber

●     DANGEROUS REFUGE by Elizabeth Lowell (hardcover)

●     THE MARRIAGE MERGER by Jennifer Probst

●     IT HAD TO BE YOU by Jill Shalvis

●     LYON'S BRIDE by Cathy Maxwell

●     DON'T CRY FOR ME by Sharon Sala

●     THE LAST VICTIM by Karen Robards

●     WHAT THE DUKE DESIRES by Sabrina Jeffries

●     THE ARRANGEMENT by Mary Balogh

Enter Kieran's Blog Tour Giveaway by clicking here.

Visit with Kieran at these other stops on her Blog Tour.

August 19- Romancing Rakes For The Love of Romance http://romancingrakes4theluvofromance.blogspot.com/ August 20- The Romance Dish http://www.theromancedish.com/ August 21- Ramblings From This Chick http://ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com/ August 22- Romance Writer’s Revenge http://www.romancewritersrevenge.com/ August 23- Jaunty Quills http://jauntyquills.com/

August 26- Get Lost In A Story http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/ August 27- Herding Cats and Burning Soup http://www.herdingcats-burningsoup.com/ August 28- Cocktails and Books http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com/ August 29- SOS Aloha http://sosaloha.blogspot.com/ August 30- Urban Girl Reader http://www.urbangirlreader.com

Review - - Deathwatch

Deathwatch
By Dana Marton
Publisher:  Independent
Release Date:  August 16, 2013

Kate Bridges thought attending her own funeral would be the hardest part.

As first lines go, that one's a winner.  Dana Marton grabbed my attention with that first sentence and proceeded to take me on a roller coaster ride filled with chills, thrills, sizzling emotion and non-stop action. I was riveted to this story from beginning to end, so much so that I read the entire book in one afternoon and then immediately downloaded the other books in the Broslin Creek series.  This author knows how to write romantic suspense!

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  When Kate Bridges visits a childhood friend she ends up being the only witness in the world who can identify a notorious assassin, an assassin who will stop at nothing until he silences Kate forever.  When an attempt to kill her leaves her seriously injured but alive, the FBI announces her death then takes her into protective custody and sets a trap for the killer...at Kate's funeral. The trap goes wrong, the killer escapes and Kate, knowing nobody can keep her safe, flees for her life.

Eighteen months later...

For Kate, the past eighteen months have been a series of small towns, odd jobs and never, ever letting down her guard.  When she awakens in the middle of the night to find a large man towering over her bed she's sure her time has run out.

Returning home from Afghanistan, wounded in body and spirit, Murphy Dolan, an Army Reserve soldier and Broslin Creek police officer, is shocked to discover his brother has taken it upon himself to earn a little extra cash by renting out Murphy's house.  Murphy wants the woman gone.  Kate has no place to go.  Neither one trusts the other.

Kate has had a rough life including childhood abuse and a series of foster homes before she and her baby sister were finally adopted by a loving couple when Kate was twelve. Those parents are responsible for the person Kate is today - strong, courageous and caring.  Kate misses her family terribly, as well as the traumatized children she treated in her career, but she doesn't regret her decision to let people believe she's died.  Keeping her secret is the only way to keep the people she loves safe.

Murph's cop instincts are working overtime.  It's obvious Kate is terrified and also hiding something.  He won't let her stay in his home unless she tells him everything and when she does...everything changes. Murph's protective instincts kick in and he's determined to keep her safe, especially as they grow closer and feelings between them begin to deepen.  But even though they're working together, Kate still battles her fear and Murph's PTSD demons won't subside.  When clues point to a villain on the scene, Murph is certain the assassin has tracked Kate to Broslin Creek but Kate wonders...what does she really know about Murph? Is it the assassin she needs to fear or have the post-deployment demons that plague Murphy finally caused him to snap?  And will she figure out who is the good guy and who isn't before it's too late?

This is an outstanding book.  The only thing that kept it from being a 5 star read for me were some loose ends at the conclusion of the book.  I admit it, I prefer things tied up nice and pretty.  However, even though this is the third Broslin Creek book to be published, it's the first story, chronologically, so perhaps my questions will be answered in the other books.  I'll find out soon!

~PJ


This review is part of the Deathwatch Blog Tour.  I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Other stops on the blog tour are listed below as well as a link to the tour contest.

Click here to enter rafflecopter giveaway.

Visit Dana on Facebook

Dana Marton's Website

Amazon Link for Deathwatch
Amazon link for Deathscape

Amazon link for Deathtrap

Lady Anne's Lover Winner

The randomly chosen winner of a signed copy of

Lady Anne's Lover

by Maggie Robinson

is

KIPHA

Congratulations!  Please send your full name and mailing address to us at 

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Review - - LADY ANNE'S LOVER

Lady Anne's Lover
By Maggie Robinson
Publisher:  Kensington Brava
Release Date:  July 30, 2013

Lady Imaculata Anne Egremont is no stranger to scandal.  For years, her exploits have been headline fodder for the London List and on the wagging tongues of the ton.  But when an encounter with Evangeline Ramsey, the owner of the London List, leads Imaculata to confide the devastating reason behind her behavior, Evangeline helps her disappear from London and the danger that lurks there by providing a disguise, a new name and a housekeeping position deep in rural Wales.

Arriving in Wales with the fervent hope that her new employer, a retired soldier, is too old and feeble to notice that she has neither housekeeping nor cooking experience, the newly-named Anne Mont, a plain, respectable widow, is surprised to discover that Major Gareth Ripton-Jones is neither old nor feeble.  He is, however, so drunk that he probably won't even notice she's there...or so she hopes.

Things aren't going well for our hero.  He returns home from a successful military career to discover his father has mismanaged the family estate to the brink of bankruptcy.  Then he's seriously injured by a fall off a tenant's roof and the woman he loves dumps him for greener pastures when the fall results in the loss of his arm.  If that's not enough, when his former lover is found brutally murdered, all eyes turn to Gareth, the spurned fiance, as the most likely suspect.  Perhaps he can be excused for seeking oblivion in the bottom of a bottle.  But not for long...

When Anne learns of Gareth's financial situation she proposes a solution to both their problems.  If they marry, she gains access to the fortune left to her by her mother.  Gareth can save the family lands and Anne can travel far, far away to a place where she can live an independent life and her powerful father will never find her. Gareth, who by now has sobered up enough to realize his new housekeeper is young and beautiful, has other ideas...ones that involve a marriage in more than name only.  But someone is determined to keep that from happening.  Could Anne be destined for the same fate as Gareth's former love?  And even if she escapes that fate, will Gareth be strong enough to turn his life around and make himself into a man worthy of her love?  Then there's her father, a man with evil in his soul and his daughter in his sights...

Considering the subject matter, this book could easily have turned into a heavy, angst-ridden story - the kind I struggle to finish - but Robinson's skill kept that from happening.  By infusing humor, sharp dialogue, snappy banter and a heroine with a rapier tongue and a surprising amount of adaptability and determination, Lady Anne's Lover was transformed into an enjoyable story that kept me entertained from beginning to end while still retaining the emotional strength that the journey demands.  The villain of the piece is rather easily identified but that didn't detract from my pleasure in the story.

Another aspect of the story that I enjoyed was the realistic pacing of the novel.  No easy fixes here.  Both Anne and Gareth require time, introspection and growth before opening their hearts to one another and I'm happy Robinson gives them that time.  Watching Anne confront her tormentor at the end of the book - with Gareth by her side but with the strength to stand on her own - brings the story, and the London List trilogy, to a most satisfying conclusion.

You don't have to have read the previous two books in this trilogy before reading Lady Anne's Lover though you'll probably want to after reading this book.  The first two books are Lord Gray's List (read my review here) and Captain Durant's Countess (read my review here).

If you enjoy books filled with heat, heart and humor then give Maggie Robinson's London List trilogy a try.

~PJ

The hero of Lady Anne's Lover faces the very difficult challenge of conquering alcoholism while the heroine has been subjected to abuse by a parent.  Have you read any other historical romances that feature characters facing these challenges?  Any books that you would recommend?  If you haven't read any books of this type, tell me about what you've read lately or are reading now.  

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment will receive a signed copy of Lady Anne's Lover.
(U.S. and Canadian addresses only)

New Releases winner!

The winner of a random book from my prize stash is:

 

Pam P

 

Congratulations, Pam! Please send your full name and address to theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com with "Andrea's Winner" as the subject and I'll get your book in the mail. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Read A Romance Month Winner

Thanks to everyone who left comments on the Read A Romance Month blog and thanks to all of you who have also been supporting Bobbi's Read A Romance Month website!  The randomly chosen winner of a package of books from the Dishes is:

Sharlene

Congratulations, Sharlene!  Please send your full name and mailing address to us at

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Guest Review - - The Passion of the Purple Plumeria

The Passion of the Purple Plumeria

By Lauren Willig

Publisher: NAL

Release Date: August 6, 2013

Eloise Kelly knows that her time in England is drawing to an end. Her research on the Pink Carnation has hit a dead end. Search as diligently as she can, she cannot uncover any reference to Miss Jane Wooliston or Miss Gwendolyn Meadows after 1805. She only hopes that her romance with Colin Selwick is not coming to a dead end as well. They have grown very comfortable together during the months she has lived with him at Selwick Hall, his ancestral estate, but Colin has said nothing to suggest permanence, and Eloise is committed to a full teaching schedule at Harvard for the coming year. With two months left, she needs some answers for the good of her thesis and her heart.

Eloise will eventually learn that in 1805, Jane Wooliston returned to England because her younger sister Agnes and a schoolmate had disappeared from Miss Climpson’s Select Seminary, their Bath boarding school, and Jane fears that Agnes may have been kidnapped because of her. She feels compelled to leave France and return to England, and where Jane goes, there too goes her prickly, occasionally proper, frequently parasol-bearing chaperone and fellow agent, Miss Gwen.

Jane and Miss Gwen have barely begun their investigation in Bath when Colonel William Reid, the father of the other missing girl, turns up, understandably surprised and concerned that his daughter Lizzy is not where he expected her to be and no one knows where she is. (Faithful followers of the Pink Carnation series will remember Agnes and the redoubtable Lizzy from The Mischief of the Mistletoe and Colonel Reid as the father of Alex Reid, the hero of The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, 2010). Colonel Reid has left India, where he has spent the greater part of his life building a military career, to spend more time with the two daughters he sent to England almost a decade ago. He is determined that he will be involved in the search for his daughter,

Miss Gwen knows he will be trouble for her and for the Pink Carnation, but none of the warnings her instincts are sounding comes with instructions for ridding herself of the handsome colonel. The two set out to find the missing girls. Instead they find that the colonel’s older daughter Kit is not where he thought she was either, and she has not seen her younger sister. When the two are attacked as they leave Kit, the colonel discovers that the Miss Gwen’s parasol disguises a sword as effectively as any gentleman’s cane, and Miss Gwen discovers that the man she has declared a rogue is just the kind of fellow one wants to have at one’s back in a tough fight. Together they defeat their thuggish attackers, but the colonel is wounded. Nursing an injured soldier may not fit well with Miss Gwen’s image, but she does it very well. And the experience tears down some barriers between the two that will not, cannot be rebuilt.

By the time the missing girls are found, the Pink Carnation and company have fought a major battle, solved the mystery of a sultan’s fortune in jewels, and set the lives of Jane Wooliston and Miss Gwen in new directions. Generations later, those same jewels, supposedly hidden on the Selwick estate, add to the tensions between Colin and his cousin/step-father, the repellent Jeremy Selwick-Alderly. When the two are ordered to work together by the old lady, Colin’s great-aunt and Jeremy’s grandmother, who loves and intimidates them both, they do so and, with the help of a centuries-old book, The Convent of Orsino by A Lady, find not only a fortune but a degree of harmony and information Eloise desperately needs for her research.

Each time I read a new Pink Carnation book, I am persuaded that it is my favorite in the series, but I think this one may prove to be the lasting best. From the opening sentence when Eloise tells Colin, “I seriously doubt that the lost jewels of Berar are under your bath mat” to the final three words “Yes, we have,” I loved this book. I loved the events of the frame story, but the story of Gwendolyn Meadows and William Reid delighted this reader’s heart on at least four levels.

1.      I loved their banter.

“I’ve always been one for Mozart myself, “said Colonel Reid. “There’s a nice bounce to his music, and it all always comes out right in the end.”

“Hardly realistic,” Gwen shot back.

“Neither is singing out one’s woes at the top of one’s lungs,” countered Colonel Reid. He grinned, “When was the last time you’ve done that? With an orchestra to follow one about, no less.”

“Most of the orchestras I’ve encountered,” said Gwen, “are remarkably stationary.”

The lines at the corners of Colonel Reid’s eyes crinkled. “Do you ever allow anyone else the last word, Miss Meadows?” 

“Not if they haven’t wit enough to seize it,” said Gwen.

“That,” said Colonel Reid, ‘sounds remarkably like a challenge.”

2.      I loved that this is a love story between two people over the age of forty, multi-dimensional people who have their share of baggage, who have made their share of mistakes, and who have developed quite effective personae that allow the world to see only what they want seen. I love that their romance is sweet and funny and passionate.

3.      I love that Lauren Willig succeeds superlatively well at her stated purpose of revealing the Gwen that lives within the Miss Gwen who has charmed and entertained readers through many books. (And the pair of interviews in the bonus material just may be my favorite book bonus ever.)

4.      Finally, I love that a beloved series that might well have ended with this book has turned in new directions that will yield more stories. The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla will be released in August 2014, followed by the as yet untitled Pink XII, which, according to Willig, “will probably be out at some point in 2015.” I hope there will be more. I figure the Reid offspring alone deserve at least three. There’s Kat, whose story Willig has already mentioned; Jack is such an intriguing character that his story cries to be told; and surely Lizzy with her promised ten parasols with swords will prove to be a worthy heiress to the traditions of her stepmother.

Just in case it’s not clear by now, I highly recommend this book. If you are a Pink fan, you’ve probably already read it or have it waiting on your TBR stack or on reserve at your local library. If you have never read a Pink book, I promise if you like books with wit and warmth, if you like books that are rich in historical details, if you like books that give you historical and contemporary tales under one title, if you like books that offer unforgettable characters engaged in history, romance, mystery, and adventure, you’ll love this book. In fact, you’ll love this series.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Guest Review - - Castaway Cove

Castaway Cove

By JoAnn Ross

Publisher: Signet

Release Date: August 6, 2013

  

Staff Sergeant Mackenzie “Mac” Culhane, a deejay with the American Forces Network, is on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when he is wounded. Three weeks later, he is in Colorado Springs where his wife has moved with their five-year-old daughter, Emma. Within hours of his arrival, his wife is on her way out of town and out of his life, leaving him with Emma. When Mac’s adoptive father, a pediatric surgeon who has retired to his hometown, Shelter Bay, Oregon, invites Mac and Emma to join him, Mac jumps at the chance for a new start with Emma in the picturesque small town where he will have the support of his father and friends from childhood summers spent in Shelter Bay with his grandfather.

Annie Shepherd was abandoned as an infant and grew up in a series of foster homes. All Annie ever wanted was a family, and when she married her boss, a Washington, D. C. lobbyist, she thought she would achieve her dream. But her marriage ended when her husband dumped her for the woman that would become wife #4. Annie, who remembered Shelter Bay from a childhood visit, moved there, bought a house, and opened a scrapbooking store. The friends she’s made in Shelter Bay, the joy she gets from her successful shop,  the satisfaction of her volunteer work with the residents of Still Waters, Shelter Bay’s memory care facility, and the companionship of her cat Pirate have given Annie a full life. Despite the urging of her friends, she’s determined that romantic relationships no longer have a place in her life.

Mac and Annie connect one Saturday night when Annie responds to Mac’s invitation to his listeners and calls into Midnight Mac’s late night country music show. A surprisingly intimate, off-air conversation about loneliness and post-divorce guilt leaves them both interested but leery. Mac realizes that his first responsibility is to Emma, and that means he has to approach relationships more cautiously than he has in the past. Annie, who gave a fake name when she called in, is determined that, for several reasons, she is not relationship material. But the chemistry they share and all the matchmakers of Shelter Bay,  including Mac’s grandfather Charlie, Annie’s favorite Still Waters resident, who has loving memories of his own Annie, and Emma, who really wants a live-in mommy, are working to see the two of them together. Before that can happen, however, Mac and Annie must summon the courage to risk their vulnerable hearts.

Mac and Annie are both likeable characters. Mac’s biological father died when Mac was still a child, but Mac was loved by his mother and adoptive father who encouraged him to pursue his dreams. Professional success came early and easily. I think he must have been a bit spoiled, but by the time the reader meets him, his time in Afghanistan and his divorce have changed and matured him. He is a loving dad, a devoted son and grandson, a good friend, and a tender, sexy, romantic lover. The gift he gives Annie when he proposes is wonderful. Annie’s life has been much tougher, but she survives with courage and a loving heart. Despite her reservations, she finds both Mac and Emma irresistible. Given her history, it makes sense that she is more cautious than Mac. I fell in love with Emma and with Charlie, and I can’t wait to see Sedona meet her match.

Castaway Cove is the sixth book in Ross’s Shelter Bay series, and like the other books, this one reinforces the warmth and beauty of the coastal community and enlarges the cast of characters whose stories engage the interest and touch the heart of the reader. If you like quieter stories with characters who feel like friends and a town where you feel at home, you can’t do better than this series. I’ve been reading JoAnn Ross’s books for many years, and her Shelter Bay books are my favorites of my Ross keepers. If you haven’t visited Shelter Bay yet, you can start with Castaway Cove. You don’t have to have read the other books to appreciate Mac and Annie’s story, but be prepared. You may find the other characters so appealing that you will want to read their stories too.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Read-A-Romance Month!

Morning, Dishies!  PJ here.  Have you heard about Read-A-Romance Month?  It's the creation of NPR writer, Kirkus reviewer and romance reader, Bobbi Dumas and it's sweeping the world.  One month, awesome prizes and 93 authors sharing why they believe romance matters.  Bobbi is joining us today to talk a bit about Read-A-Romance Month and why she thinks romance matters.  Please give her a warm welcome!

August is Read-A-Romance Month!

Thank you, PJ for inviting me to The Romance Dish - and thanks for all you do for romance!

“Hi. My name’s Bobbi. I read romance.”

This is how I started my first-ever piece that I did for the NPR book blog, “In Defense of Romance.” You can read it here.  

http://www.npr.org/2012/12/18/167451651/dont-hide-your-harlequins-in-defense-of-romance

I love romance! I think romance enhances our lives and brightens our days, and I’ve been so pleased to see some really smart writers speak out for the genre in the last few months. But honestly, if you give it a chance, the genre speaks for itself. These books are awesome! (But then, I’m preaching to the choir, aren’t I?)

I love romance so much that I’ve created a month-long celebration of the genre, and I’ve asked 93 romance and women’s fiction authors to write on the theme “Romance Matters.” The contributors range from some of the biggest names in romance - Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Eloisa James, Jayne Ann Krentz... 

...to some recent e-publishing sensations like Marie Force, Bella Andre and Jennifer Probst.

Oh, and there are some great prizes, too! Daily book drawings from each post, as well as weekly “A Month Worth of Books” prizes, most with e-readers attached (all generously donated by Avon Romance, Berkley/NAL, Harlequin, Amazon Montlake), and the Grand Central Grand Prize, an iPad Mini! (See the Contest page at ReadARomanceMonth.com)

These essays are so touching and wonderful, and I love the fact that they run the spectrum of emotions, too. Sarah Morgan’s adorable post about how a woman’s life was probably saved because she was reading a great book she was too embarrassed to talk about, because it was a romance.  Read Sarah's essay here:

http://www.readaromancemonth.com/2013/08/day-1-sarah-morgan/

Christina Dodd’s wonderful essay on why we live longer because we read romance. So many great essays already there, and so many more to come.  Such a gift.

Read Christina's essay here: http://www.readaromancemonth.com/2013/08/08/

Do you love romance? Then celebrate romance with us at ReadARomanceMonth! And spread the word.

~Bobbi

Readers, tell us why romance matters to you.  Has there been a time when romance books have made a difference in your life?  Which author - or book - introduced you to romance?  

We're giving away a package of books to one person who leaves a comment on this blog and on at least one of today's essays at the Read-A-Romance Month site.  Today's featured authors at R-A-R-M are Jill Shalvis, Hank Phillippi Ryan and Maya Rodale.   

Marilyn Baron Winner

Thanks to everyone who stopped by Friday to chat with Marilyn Baron.  

Marilyn's randomly selected winner is:

ERIN

Congratulations, Erin!  

Please send us your full name and mailing address and let us know which book you'd like:  

Under the Moon Gate (print or e-book) or 

Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story (e-book only).  

Please send your information to theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com.

Jenny Colgan Spotlight Winner

The winner of a copy of MEET ME AT THE CUPCAKE CAFE 

by Jenny Colgan is:

CONNIE 

(comment #12)

Congratulations, Connie!  Please send your full name and mailing address to us at

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

The Teen Menu

With every day, there seems to be all kinds of interesting young adult fiction news. It's a hot genre for movie makers now, so there are lots of deals in the works or already in production.

Author John Green talks about his book The Fault in Our Stars being made into a movie.

One of the YA book-to-movie adaptations I'm most looking forward to is for The Maze Runner. Here's an interview with some of the main players -- lead star Dylan O'Brien (who I love as Stiles in MTV's Teen Wolf), author James Dashner and others.

I think most of us love when movie adaptations follow our favorite books as closely as they can, but that's not always possible. Recently, three changes to the upcoming Catching Fire (second in the Hunger Games trilogy) were revealed. Click here if you want to know what they are.

We are only 11 days away from The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones hitting theaters. Yay! Also, in related news, I'm going to be dressing as a Shadowhunter at Dragon*Con this year. I'll get someone to take my photo and try to remember to post it next month.

Also, I'd like to add a new change coming to this column beginning next month. I'm going to be mixing things up a little. Some months I'll include a review of something I've read. Others, I'll be interviewing YA authors about their books and writing in the young adult genre. So, stay tuned!

And since we talked a lot about movie adaptations this month, what young adult book would you like to see turned into a movie?

Today's Special - - Marilyn Baron

I'm delighted to welcome Marilyn Baron to the Romance Dish today. Marilyn's star has been shining for many years.  A native of Miami, Florida and graduate of the University of Florida, Marilyn wrote her first book while still in grade school and wrote and directed her first play at the age of 13.  Today, she lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area with her husband and children and stays busy writing award-winning humorous women's fiction, romantic suspense thrillers and paranormal romance.  

Marilyn joins us today to celebrate the print release of her newest book, Under the Moon Gate.  Please give her a warm welcome.







Thank you PJ and Andrea for hosting me today on The Romance Dish.

I’m excited because today is the official release date of my new novel, Under the Moon Gate. Although the book has been out on Amazon Kindle in digital format, it is now officially available in print on Amazon, on my publisher’s (The Wild Rose Press) Web site and other outlets. The prequel, Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story, is currently out in a digital-only format on Amazon with an official release date of September 11.  

My family has vacationed in Bermuda many times and it’s one of my favorite places to visit, which is why I decided to set my books there. My new Web site also features a Bermuda theme and the beautiful island colors so I hope you’ll visit my site. I’m a big WW II buff so I combined both loves in writing these stories. Spy novels are a particular favorite and my husband won’t read anything but spy novels set in WW II so if I wanted him to read my book, I knew I would have to write a WW II spy novel.

I think the artist did a great job with the cover of Under the Moon Gate. It’s my favorite color green and incorporates the beautiful moon gates of Bermuda, which feature prominently in my story. Moon Gates, a very special tradition of Bermuda, are arches made of Bermuda stone, often used as an entrance to a garden. Legend has it that people who step through a Moon Gate, especially young lovers and honeymooners, are blessed with good luck.

These stories have been percolating for about ten years so I’m thrilled that they are finally coming to light. They were originally part of one larger manuscript called The Bermuda Triangle: A Love Story and included three love stories from three generations. The first takes place in the early 17^th century. Then there’s a contemporary romance and a World War II romance. All three romances are still contained in the two books that have just been released. I did a lot of library and Internet research on Bermuda during the WW II and earlier time periods. There’s plenty of suspense, intrigue and romance, and of course, humor, a trademark of all of my books.

Following are blurbs about my latest releases.   

Now out in e-book from The Wild Rose Press, DESTINY: A BERMUDA LOVE STORY, is the prequel to UNDER THE MOON GATE

The relationship of star-crossed lovers Elizabeth Sutton and Edward Morgan founders off the coast of Bermuda with the shipwreck of the Sea Venture in the seventeenth century.  Edward is seduced by the captain’s daughter and trapped into an unhappy marriage, but he and his new wife continue the voyage to Virginia to rescue the starving Jamestown Colony.

Elizabeth, still in England and pregnant with Edward’s child, receives Edward’s letters telling of the shipwreck but knows nothing of his marriage.  When her child is old enough, Elizabeth follows Edward as far as Bermuda.  Will he return and will the lovers be reunited, or will their eternally entwined souls search forever to fulfill their destiny?

BUY DESTINY: A BERMUDA LOVE STORY
AMAZON

Elizabeth and Edward are the ancestors of the hero and heroine of Under the Moon Gate, so readers will get their happy ending in the sequel.

Now out in e-book and print from The Wild Rose Press, Under the Moon Gate, is a historical romantic thriller set in contemporary and WW II Bermuda.

Dashing sea captain Nathaniel Morgan sails into the life of prim and proper Bermuda heiress Patience Whitestone and threatens to expose her family secrets—ruinous secrets she wasn’t aware of. The two are immediately at odds when Nathaniel moors his vessel in front of her estate and refuses to leave until he finds the cache of Swiss gold he’s convinced was buried somewhere on the property during World War II. Can Patience save herself and her family’s reputation when she finds herself reluctantly drawn to this determined “pirate”? Or will someone from the past make good on his threat to destroy them both? Their fate is inextricably linked to Nazi plots and to the beautiful moon gates of Bermuda in this compelling tale of love and intrigue. Under the Moon Gate also features a love story between the grandparents of Patience, which takes place during World War II.

Here’s one of the 5-star reviews for Under the Moon Gate. You can check out the others on Amazon.

Tropical Mystery/Suspense/Romance

“I really enjoyed all the spiciness of the German/British intrigue. Fairy tale kind of love, in a tropical Paradise, is a plus for any romance novel. Sexy Pirate bad boy meets Stunningly Beautiful, locked away virgin, good girl. Generations of suspense on both sides of the family tree...”

BUY UNDER THE MOON GATE

AMAZON (E-Book)    AMAZON (Paperback)   THE WILD ROSE PRESS (Paperback)

Marilyn, what are you working on now?

I’ve just finished approving the final edits for Sixth Sense, a romantic suspense, the first book in my psychic mystery series, which will be published by The Wild Rose Press. I have a cover but no release date yet. Sixth Sense won the Georgia Romance Writers 2012 Unpublished Maggie Award of Excellence in the Paranormal/Fantasy Romance category. The second book in the series is called Homecoming Homicides. The third, Murder on the Repositioning Cruise, hasn’t been written yet. I just got back from a Mediterranean cruise, where the action in the third book will take place, so I enjoyed the research phase of that project.  My editor and I have just finished preliminary edits on Significant Others, a humorous women’s fiction that is scheduled to be released this Christmas by The Wild Rose Press.

My sister and I, who co-wrote The Edger and Murder at the Outlet Mall, just completed a musical called Memory Lane that we’re trying to get produced.

Have you ever been to Bermuda?  Have you ever set a novel in a place you loved to visit?  Do you like to read novels about places you've visited? 

One commenter will get a copy (their choice of print or eBook) of Under the Moon Gate or Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story (eBook only) and a beautiful bookmark, designed by Kim Killion, featuring both books.

Thanks so much for visiting with us today, Marilyn.

Readers, you can find more information about Marilyn and her books at her Web site www.marilynbaron.com and connect with her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.baron.5 and Twitter at https://twitter.com/MarilynBaron and her blog Petit Fours and Hot Tamales at www.petitfoursandhottamales.com