book proposals

I'm a total sucker for the very public proposal of marriage from the hero to the heroine at the end of a good romance. I've been re-reading a bunch of old books and came across one of my favorites.

In Tami Hoag's Rumor Has It, Nick Leone, retired male stripper and new restauranteur falls in love with Katie Quaid, an interior designer in a small town in Virginia. Katie is reserved, and rightly so. She had a serious accident in the past and now is covered with scars on the outside and on the inside.

Nick falls hard and fast. He's a great hero. He eventually breaks through Katie's reserve and plans a life with her.

Katie can't have children as a result of her accident and knows that Nick wants a family. She's not sure she can be a good mother to a child not of her body and thinks Nick deserves to be with someone who can give him the children she can't. She breaks up with him for his own good, which he can't understand.

He starts a campaign to get Katie to change her mind about them, to give him and love a second chance. He invites her to a pre-grand opening party at his restaurant, puts a romantic note on her menu and plants an engagement ring in one of her dinner rolls.

Things don't quite go the way Nick planned, but he ends up on one knee in front of her, pouring his heart out in front of the whole town.

It's such a satisfying ending to this little gem of a book. The kind that makes you sigh as you close the back cover. If you're a fan of Magic Mike, you'll love this book!

Fresh Eyes

I went to my first Central New York Romance Writers meeting today. What a blast!

And what a difference a fresh perspective can make. Gayle Callan ran a workshop on synopsis writing, and while listening to her talk, I found out why I am having so much trouble moving forward with No Hope in Hell.

I was trying to put some suspense into the book. I suck at writing suspense. My voice absolutely won't work in a romantic suspense book.

In short, I wasn't being true to my voice. And while listening to Gayle talk, the clouds lifted, angelic voices rang out, and I got a clue.

I finally got my voice back for this book, and I'm writing the kind of book I like to write. Real people with real problems who come together and clash, and work through their issues and move organically into love, despite the very real barriers keeping them apart.

Thank you, Gayle!

I've been reading a lot of older romances (Again!) and am looking at the original Jude Devereaux Montgomery series, the medievals with the first four brothers, the Velvet series. If you read them, did you love one brother more than the others? I floved Miles from Velvet Angel.

I'm going to re-read Johanna Lindsay's Malory books again, the early ones. I love Tony Malory! His and Rosalyn's story is my favorite of the series!

I'm setting up some signings for Charming Dave, so please look for those, at least one in Lansing, one in Ithaca and if the stars align, one in P-town when we're there for vacay in July. With the passing of Provincetown High School, it seems like a way to thank all the amazing teachers we had in our little school.

And here's a stat rep on No Hope in Hell. Hope and Lucien are very stubborn! I hope to have a first draft done by the end of September. There's some suspense in this book, which I find difficult to write. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Free e-book

Hey! My first book, Mike's Best Bet, will be available for free in e-book format on 4/4/12 only at www.thewildrosepress.com! Check out where all the fun began!

Charming Dave is out!

CHARMING DAVE is out now, both in print and as an e-book! You can get it from amazon.com or from thewildrosepress.com.

Here's the back cover blurb: "Ainslie Logan has left her life as a trophy-wife behind and moved her family up north to escape the scandal created by her ex-husband. Lacking work experience but rich in determination she lands a job at the local sports bar, The End Zone. Dave Mason, principal of the town's high school, frequents The End Zone and is not a fan of the clumsy new waitress. Things change when he finds himself enamored by a woman who will stop at nothing to protect her children. Now Dave has to use all his charms to convince Ainslie and her children that happy endings do exist and that it's safe to love again."

Check it out