Must-Read Monday: Give Me Your Old School Romance Picks

I have a confession to make. Despite my love for the romance genre now, I didn't grow up reading classic romance. My mom wasn't a romance reader. So for the longest time, I didn't even realize that the genre existed. But anything I read--suspense, YA, horror--it was the relationship parts that always drew me the most. So when I finally discovered romance, I was hooked.

But what this means is that I missed out on a lot of those "classic" romance authors from the 80s and 90s. And I still haven't read a Nora Roberts. So when my romance friends are discussing their all-time favorite old school romances, I have no frame of reference. Therefore, I am fixing this. : )

This past week I read Whitney, My Love  by Judith McNaught (published in 1985). I had originally picked this one up because it is always referred to as one of the notorious "bodice rippers" that let a hero get away with a rape. And yes, that happened. It was not "forced seduction" that is sometimes used in historicals. It was rape. Period. The hero even calls it such. And even when I knew it was going to happen, I still found myself hoping the hero would stop at the last minute. I will note that the author has since released a revised version that changes that scene and a few others (including a riding crop/punishment scene that I actually thought was hot and would be sad to see go--but I write BDSM so take that for what it's worth, lol.)

This is the current/revised version.

This is the original 1985 version I read.

But despite that scene, the story itself had me freaking captivated. I couldn't stop reading. It was intense and spanned so much time that the whole thing felt epic. So I "got" it. I got why this book was so popular. And it made me go buy a few more McNaught's (based on recs from friends on their favorites, which I have been assured are not "rape-y".) So even with the things that wouldn't be kosher in books today (head-hopping, "big misunderstanding" conflicts, and a hero committing an irredeemable act), I still loved the book. 

And it got me in the mood for more old school romances. So I went to the used bookstore this weekend to scan the shelves. I was overwhelmed, though, because I don't know which is good and which isn't, etc. I ended up leaving with nothing. But when I walked out, I saw that outside they were selling romance flats for 15 dollars. (42 romance novels for 15 dollars!!!) Because my TBR pile is out of control, I forced myself not to buy them. It was painful to walk away, but I was trying to be a good girl. : )

Later, I tweeted about the books and how much I really wanted them. My dear hubs (@TheMrLoren) saw my tweet. He was downstairs, and I was upstairs with kidlet at the time. Well, he snuck out of the house, drove back to the bookstore, and bought me both flats to surprise me. When I came back downstairs, he was walking in with two giant boxes of old school (and some new) romances. In my world, this is more romantic than getting a diamond ring or something, lol. Best. Hubs. Ever. 

Aren't they pretty?

(click here if you want to see bigger pic to read titles)

So now I have a treasure or 84 romances by mostly NYT bestsellers and have no idea where to start. Authors included are Nora Roberts, Jude Deveraux, Catherine Coulter, Julia Quinn, Susan Wiggs, Mary Balogh, Fern Michaels, Johanna Lindsey, Amanda Quick...

The mind boggles.

This is where YOU come in. Old school romance readers, I want to know your favorites, not just from this list.

• What are your favorites of all time, those books you still remember from years or decades ago?
• What should be on my syllabus for catching up on the great romances of the last few decades?

Should You Write That Potentially Controversial Scene?

Photo by CarbonNYC (Flickr cc)Writing any story is a risk. You're putting your heart there on the page, and people may hate it. And, of course, we want everyone to love our stories, right? But here's the thing: it's an impossible task. There is no book that is going to resonate with everyone. Even the greatest works of fiction have their critics.

So when you sit down and are writing your story and you hit that scene where you think--should I go there? Will this offend/freak out/piss off this A/B/C group of people?--do not cower. If it's right for the story and those characters, then write it. 

Inevitably, in each of my books there is THAT scene--one scene that divides my readers between two camps. Some of my more traditional readers think the scene went a little too far, and then my more seasoned romance and erotic readers declare the scene their favorite. It never fails. What one side hates, the other adores. Though, I do get a lot of converts over from the traditional side with each book, lol. *evil grin* But regardless, there's always that scene. In STILL INTO YOU, it's the scene with my married couple and Ian. In MELT INTO YOU, it's the scene between Andre and Jace. And now with FALL INTO YOU, it's a scene involving a "make me" role play between the hero and heroine.

Do I know these scenes may push some buttons when I'm writing them? Yes. Do I still put them in? Yes. Because that's part of what makes the story interesting. It's not controversy for the sake of controversy, but it's those scenes that make the reader wonder in your next book and keeps them guessing. If I always wrote the safe way, then you'd know exactly what to expect in each book. Who wants that? That's why I love Tiffany Reisz's books so much because I know she's willing to go wherever the hell she wants, lol. So as a reader, it keeps me on my toes. And recently, I read Reflected In You by Sylvia Day. I'm not going to give away the ending, but what she did there at the end made me go all 0.0  I was like--oh, she WENT there. And I loved that. It made the book so much better because she didn't shy away from a truly risky move.

So when you come across that controversial scene in your own book, don't worry about what will so and so think. Put on your big girl (or boy) underoos and write what fits the characters and the story. That's your job. 

Have you ever worried about a scene being too controversial in any of your stories? How do you feel when you run across those scenes in the books of others and it pushes you out of your comfort zone?

Must Read Monday - A YA Pick and a Giveaway via Julie Cross

So today is the inaugural Must Read Monday post. Yay! And though I'll normally be doing these book recommendations myself, there will be times where I'll be inviting other authors to pick some of their recent favorite reads (not their own book). And today I'm having my friend, YA Author Julie Cross, do the honors. Julie reads a ton of books, and she's my go to girl for YA and New Adult recommendations because she's always a few steps ahead of me on what's hot in those genres and I always trust her taste. She hasn't let me down yet with her recs, so she's the perfect person to have by today.

PLUS, I'm giving away not just one but TWO of Julie's books. Catch up on her whole series by getting a copy of TEMPEST and an ARC of her upcoming release, VORTEX! Details at the bottom on how to enter. But now, over to Julie...

Must Read Monday with Julie Cross

It’s been a while since I’ve done a guest post here and I’m super excited to be a part of Must Read Monday! Especially because Roni and I have taken this publishing journey virtually (actually virtually) along side each other. We debuted in the same month in January 2012 and it’s so nice to have someone who shares my book taste that I can chat and rant with about my latest reads AND about all things publishing related. 

Today, I’m recommending a YA title that released on New Years Day and a book that I had the pleasure of reading early last April. I actually wrote an official blurb for this book and it’s on the back cover, which made me squeal a little when I got it in the mail yesterday upon returning from vacation. Here’s the blurb I wrote:

“Jennifer Rush's ALTERED  is a thrilling, fast paced and romantic story. I read it almost entirely in one sitting. The twists and turns this plot takes will shock even the most proficient readers. Government conspiracies, special abilities, family, friendship, and love all melt together so beautifully to create an amazing debut novel.”

Blurb: 

They were made to forget. But they'll never forgive.

Everything about Anna's life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch, at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There's Nick, solemn and brooding; Cas, light-hearted and playful; Trev, smart and caring; and Sam . . . who's stolen Anna's heart.

When the Branch decides it's time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape. Anna's father pushes her to go with them, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs.

On the run, with her father's warning in her head, Anna begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about herself. She soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they're both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

I also wrote a little bit longer review for goodreads that will hopefully help you decide if this is your kind of book because that’s what it’s always about, finding the right read for you. 

“I loved this book from page one--the quirky premise in the opening....four mysterious boys in a basement with no one to talk to but a home-schooled girl, that alone is just freakin' awesome and totally my kinda story. And then four boys on the run with said home-schooled girl who turns out to be less damsel in distress with every page and more mystery and awesome.

The plot twists toward the end are just brilliant and completely unpredictable. I love the underlying debate of science vs human nature. Do the boys really care about Anna or is it just because they're programmed to listen to her. Where do those lines began and end? The whole concept and premise is so original and the book is fantastically written. I especially loved the way Anna doesn't explain much in the beginning. She's just going about her life and it took me a little bit to realize that the boys were behind a glass wall. I felt like Jennifer did such a great job of going so far into the head of the Main Character that she didn't bother with explaining things that are abnormal to the average person. Like having experimental, altered boys locked up in your basement. It's all Anna knows, why would she compare or explain her life? It makes something far-fetched seem almost realistic, like someone we know might have a whole Branch experiment in their basement and we just think they're the normal family down the street that likes to keep to themselves.

Even though this a sci-fi, it really stretches so much farther and could easily please a romance, or contemporary YA fan as well as a younger action loving reader. I also think both girls and boys would enjoy this book.”

I’m happy to answer questions and give more types of YA book suggestions if any of you are looking for more titles just ask away! Of course you can also read this book called Tempest, I heard the sequel comes out on January 15…

Thanks for having me, Roni and good luck to those of you who enter the giveaway!

--Julie Cross

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Thanks, Julie! That sounds like an amazing book. : ) And speaking of amazing books, Julie has one of those coming out on the 15th--VORTEX, the second in her series. If you haven't read TEMPEST yet (YA time travel) you're missing out. Get to it! 

VORTEX Blurb:

Julie Cross's Vortex is the thrilling second installment of the Tempest series, in which the world hangs in the balance as a lovelorn Jackson must choose who to save

Jackson Meyer has thrown himself into his role as an agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats. Despite his heartbreak at losing the love of his life, Jackson has proved himself to be an excellent agent. However, after an accidental run in with Holly—the girl he altered history to save—Jackson is once again reminded of what he's lost. And when Eyewall, an opposing division of the CIA, emerges, Jackson and his fellow agents not only find themselves under attack, but Jackson begins to discover that the world around him has changed and someone knows about his erased relationship with Holly, putting both their lives at risk all over again.

GIVEAWAY: I'm giving away both TEMPEST and VORTEX to one lucky commenter (U.S./Canada only) today. Both are paperback ARCs. To enter the contest, you need to give us your MUST READ of the week in the comments and leave your EMAIL ADDRESS.

Reading Challenges for 2013 - Clearing the TBR (and Netflix Cue)

So for those of you who have followed me for a while, you know that I like to sign up for reading challenges each year. Besides adding an extra dose of motivation, I like keeping track of what I read and feeling like I'm moving toward some goal. (This basically means that I love to make a list and look back at it.)

In 2012, I did the 50/50 Challenge where the goal was to read 50 books and watch 50 movie in a year. That was a fun challenge because it didn't have a lot of restrictions, and it helped me focus on watching movies too--something I tend to neglect. As a writer, movies can be super helpful because the story structure is so clearly observable. And since I tend to plot using screenwriting techniques, it's especially useful to watch movies.

My final results for last year's challenge: 42 books and 33 movies  You can see what I read and watched here.

So I didn't quite make it but I was pretty happy with that. And I just found out they're doing it again, so I'm definitely doing this one again. They are still building the new website, but you can get all the details here. And if you'd like to follow how I'm doing on the challenge, I have a page on Pinterest for it. Let me know if you decide to sign up too!

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Next is a challenge I'm in desperate need of - The Dusty Bookshelf Challenge. I recently blogged about My Crazy TBR Pile & My Tough Love Rules To Cut It Down so this challenge is perfect to help with that. Basically, I suffer from the "ooh, look, shiny!" diseases when it comes to choosing my next book to read and end up ignoring perfectly good books that are sitting patiently on my shelves or in my e-reader. So this one will hopefully motivate me to read what I've got. This is NOT an agreement to not buy new books this year or not read new releases. Let's not get crazy now. But this will hopefully make me more balanced with my choices.

You can sign up for this challenge and get the rules here at Books: A True Story. There is a Goodreads group as well if you're interested. You can sign up for different levels (how many dusty books you agree to read) and the rules are that I'm supposed to post which ones I'm going to read. However, that's like plotting ahead and I'm a pantser. I don't know what I'm going to be in the mood for at the time. But I will agree the "Grungy" level and aim to read at least 20 that were added to my shelf between 2009-2012. 

So those are the two I'm signing up for. Are you doing any challenges this year? Feel free to let us know about the other challenges that are out there via the comments. Have a great weekend!

FALL INTO YOU is here! Happy Smexy New Year!

Just popping it to say - woo-hoo! It's release day! Grant's story is finally here!

So your instructions for today are as follows:

1. Buy FALL INTO YOU (and receive my undying gratitude and adoration.)

2. Do whatever the heck else you want to today, as long as number one has been achieved. ;)

3. Stay safe and have a fabulous New Year!

Here are some early reviews coming in:

“DEFINITELY and WITHOUT A DOUBT my favorite Dom by Roni Loren to date. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite erotic romance series.  When I crack open a Roni Loren book I seem to always expect a very sexy read, characters with depth and a storyline that always keeps engaged while being a bit suspenseful.  And that’s just sexy suspense done right. --Under the Covers blog

From the first scene between Grant and Charli to the last, Fall Into You is an enthralling, edgy, sexy story. It makes you hope and root for a couple that deserves to find peace and happiness. The underlying theme of this story when all is said and done, is not dominance and submission, it’s not clubs and lessons, it’s not just sex and pleasure – It’s love. ~ Guilty Pleasures book blog

"4 1/2 Stars! Steamy, occasionally shocking, and relentlessly intense, this book isn't for the faint of heart. But with fiery, emotional characters and their blisteringly passionate relationship, it is also one that isn't easily forgotten." --RT Book Reviews magazine

*holds all of your hands and dances around in a circle with glee* Happy Smexy New Year!