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All Contemporary Romance Coverage

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Fans of muscle-bound, tough-as-nails romance heroes are sure to find plenty to love in Lori Foster's Holding Strong, the newest installment in her Ultimate series, which takes place in the world of mixed martrial arts fighters. When Cherry Payton, a independent and charming daycare worker trying to put a painful past behind her, meets the ultimate alpha male, Denver Lewis, all bets on resisting their attraction are off. We caught up with Lori Foster and chatted about MMA, her ideal date night and more in a 7 questions interview.

Describe your book in one sentence.
A hunky MMA fighter wants more than just one night with a woman fleeing her past and those who would hurt her.

What inspired you to pen a series based in the world of MMA fighters?
I’ve always been a fan of MMA. The sport has been refined over the years and now features some of the most elite athletes in the world—very ripped, alpha athletes. Any high-level sports competition would require an intense schedule, keen intelligence and a lot of motivation and dedication which helps create the perfect backdrop for romantic conflict, as well as the perfectly capable hero.

This is actually my second series of MMA fighters, and the first was very popular with readers. I’ve loosely tied the series together with cameos from the first set of male protagonists in this series.

What makes your two heroes, Denver and Cherry, such a great match?
Their personalities are like the ying and yang of relationships. Cherry is smart and independent, and so madly in love with Denver that, when he doesn’t immediately reciprocate, she tries to hide her feelings and of course, Denver misinterprets that.

Denver is big and macho, something of a nice chauvinist because while he trusts in Cherry’s intelligence, he enjoys the role of bigger, stronger protector.

Once they do finally get together, Cherry wants to insulate their new relationship from all the ugliness of her past, but Denver badly wants to eradicate the ugliness for her.

Finally they have to work together and protect each other.

What does your ideal date night look like?
My husband and I have been together almost 37 years, and we’re very much in sync. We both love dinner out at a casual restaurant—steak for him, grilled chicken for me—and then an early movie, usually an action or horror flick. (He doesn’t mind “chick flicks” but I’m not a fan.) Then it's back home to relax together on the couch watching the news or one of our select TV series. We’re both very much homebodies, totally casual, and if we’re in crowds, we prefer them to be crowds of family and our menagerie of pets.

As an avid movie-lover, what’s your favorite book to film adaptation?
Now I feel terrible, but I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that was made into a movie. The books I LOVE (romance novels) haven’t been made into movies, and the movies I love were not, to my knowledge, ever books. If they were, I didn’t read them.

I remember a wonderful Linda Howard book that was made into a TV movie, and if I hadn’t been told it was based on the book, I’d never have recognized it, so I can’t say it was a fave. The book, YES, the movie, definitely not. I’ve never read Fifty Shades, but I might eventually see the movie . . . maybe when it’s available in the privacy of my own home. 😉 Some of my favorite movies are A History of Violence, Perfect Get Away, John Wick and Equalizer. They may have been books, but I have no idea.

If you had to spend the weekend with one of your heroes, who would you choose and why?
Hmm . . . well, it’d be one of the guys on a lake, like one of the Buckhorn brothers, or Dare or Jackson from the Men of Honor series, or maybe even Joe Winston from the Visitation series. I’m going to say . . . Gabe, from the Buckhorn brothers, because the other guys I mentioned would intimidate me for sure, but Gabe is pretty laid-back and relaxed. I think we could just do a few boat rides and swim. 

What would you like to ask the next “7 Questions” Romance participant?
What’s their favorite character who was easier to write or a plot that kept him / her engaged. As an author, I know some are just plain harder than others. 🙂 The ones that practically write themselves make it all worthwhile!

Fans of muscle-bound, tough-as-nails romance heroes are sure to find plenty to love in Lori Foster's Holding Strong, the newest installment in her Ultimate series, which takes place in the world of mixed martrial arts fighters.
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When Kitty Grant returns to her hometown of Cailkirn, Alaska, after a painful divorce, Tack MacKinnon isn't exactly the first person she wants to see. But there's no way to avoid him for long, and soon they find themselves in a friends-with-benefits situation. True feelings start to surface, but can they overcome their fears and painful pasts in order to make it as a couple? 

We caught up with Lucy Monroe and chatted about Alaska's natural beauty, the importance of imperfect characters and more in a 7 questions interview.

Describe your book in one sentence.
Wild Heat is a wild emotional ride about best friends who prove that second chances aren’t just worth taking, they’re worth fighting for and steamy sex isn’t just about two bodies coming together but two hearts colliding.

What inspired you to set your new Northern Fire series in a small Alaskan town?
I went to Alaska and I fell in love: with the small towns we visited, the often quirky people we met, the landscape, the whole experience. Stories started rolling through my head like movies from the first step onto Alaskan soil and they didn’t stop once I got home. Creating a series to tell those stories seemed like a natural step to take. Finding a publisher and the time to write the stories . . . now that was something else entirely.

Have you ever traveled to Alaska?
Yes. And I’m eager to go back. Our next trip will be longer and will probably be limited to the Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage, but life is fluid, so I’m so not writing that in stone.

What do you love most about Kitty Grant and Tack MacKinnon?
They love each other in a way few people do and when you add the way they are in love with each other on top of that, they have such a special bond. And still they manage to screw it up. That gives us hope. Because, come on, if they can screw something so amazing up and then turn around and somehow fix it—even after all the pain, the rest of us have a chance to make life work too. I love that Tack is such a protector and Kitty is too. In their own ways, they care so very deeply about their families and the people that they love. It’s admitting they love each other that’s hard. And honestly, I find that that endearing. I like imperfect people because I am one.

What does your ideal date night look like?
My ideal date night starts with the ideal partner and that’s my husband. He’s amazing. [Happy sigh.] A gorgeous, romantic guy who is not perfect, but is absolutely the guy for me. The “ideal” date would be a warm evening. We’d start with dinner at an outdoor café—not too crowded, the food is good, the service friendly but not unctuous—and it’s followed by some form of live entertainment (a play in the park, music at the Schnitz, a ballet); we stop for dessert and decaf espressos at The Heathman’s Library bar and go home to make love. In fact, I think that sounds like a night that needs to happen sometime very soon.

Out of all the characters in your novels, who is your favorite character to write?
The easy answer would be one of the characters I’m working on right now, but would that be the truth? Honestly, I think my favorite character to ever write might well have been Kitty from Wild Heat because in so many ways, she reminds me of my baby sister and I adore her. But then so does Jillian from The Real Deal (for very different reasons), so honestly, I don’t know. Every character crawls inside my heart and digs their own little home there. Some make me laugh, some make me cry and some make me so mad I want to spank them.

What would you like to ask the next “7 Questions” Romance participant?
If you could go back and change something about one of your already published books, would you and what would it be?

We caught up with Lucy Monroe and chatted about Alaska's natural beauty, the importance of imperfect characters and more in a 7 questions interview.
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The longtime host of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" is branching out into a new form of media: the novel. In his first work of fiction, Chris Harrison follows in the time-honored tradition of writers like Nicholas Sparks and Robert James Waller with The Perfect Letter, a story of two star-crossed Texas lovers who have a second chance at rekindling their romance after a decade apart. Here, Harrison dishes on his switch to fiction, his writing inspirations and his continued belief in true love.

Has writing always been a hobby of yours?
My goal was always to be a television host, but I've always enjoyed writing. I think it took an opportunity like this to make this become a reality. 

Were you able to transfer any of the skills you learned during your TV work to writing?
I didn't transfer any skills, as these are two very different disciplines. But I certainly have learned lessons over the last 13 years of hosting “The Bachelor” that have helped shape this novel and how I write romance and love stories. 

Your main character, Leigh, is caught between a man from her past and one who could be her future. What do you think makes for an effective love triangle?
You asked if anything from my "day" job as host of “The Bachelor” is involved in this book. Well, if there's anything I understand, it's love triangles. I know more than probably anybody in the world how we have the capacity to love more than one person at a time. I've seen it firsthand many times over, and it's incredible to see how people react. This was a very easy subject for me to tackle in my first novel.

"If there's anything I understand, it's love triangles. I know more than probably anybody in the world how we have the capacity to love more than one person at a time."

Has hosting “The Bachelor” made you more or less of a romantic, and why?
I've always been a hopeless romantic. When people ask if I believe in “The Bachelor,” I always say yes. I'm a sucker for love and even more so for a good love story. I hope The Perfect Letter is one of those love stories people will fall in love with. 

You set The Perfect Letter in Texas—what was the best thing about writing about your home state? The hardest thing?
While I live in California now, the Lone Star state will always be home for me and certainly holds a special place in my heart. If the theory “write about what you know” holds true, then I definitely went that way by setting this novel in the heart of Texas. Austin in particular is one of my favorite towns.

The most difficult thing is that when you know a subject so well you have to be careful not to overdo it. It's easy to get caught up in naming specific places or too many details that can take the reader out of the "fiction.” So I was careful to try and walk that line and combine just enough reality with imagination so the reader can truly escape while reading the story.

What do you think “a perfect letter” should include?
The tradition of sitting down to write a personal handwritten letter is a lost art. There's something special about getting a letter. I don't necessarily think it matters as much about what's inside, as long as it is real, honest and from the heart. Text messages and emails just don't cut it! 

What is the #1 misunderstanding people have about “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”?
I think something that gets lost is that these are just regular real people. Yes, they are on TV now and they become psuedo-celebs, but at the end of the day it's just two normal people who fell in love. I think people tend to forget that. It's what makes the show so relatable and why it works so well. 

Which writers do you admire?
Well if we're staying in the romance genre, obviously Nicholas Sparks leads the pack. I'll admit I’m a little biased as we've met and I consider him a friend. Nora Roberts would certainly also have to be in that conversation of best romance writers. Dan Jenkins is an old sportswriter from Texas I grew up on who has churned out several great novels. Laura Hillenbrand is an incredible talent who has written two of my favorite books: Unbroken and Seabiscuit. Growing up loving the outdoors in Texas, it's hard not to love Hemingway. I thank my brother for introducing me to him.

What’s next for you?
Well, you don't write a second novel if the first one isn't good. I think The Perfect Letter is really good, but it's not up to me! I'm putting it out into the world and the readers will tell me what's next. I hope they tell me to write another!

Author photo by Bob D’Amico/ABC

The longtime host of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" is branching out into a new form of media: the novel. In his first work of fiction, Chris Harrison follows in the time-honored tradition of writers like Nicholas Sparks and Robert James Waller with The Perfect Letter, a story of two star-crossed Texas lovers who have a second chance at rekindling their romance after a decade apart. Here, Harrison dishes on his switch to fiction, his writing inspirations and his continued belief in true love.
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Our July Top Pick is best-selling author Julie Ann Walker's action-packed romance Hell or High Water, the first in her Deep Six series about a crew of ex-SEALs and the deep-sea salvage company they run. In a 7 Questions interview, Walker tells us about her Key West research trip, the Cuban treat that fueled her novel, the appeal of a Navy SEAL and more. 

Describe your novel in one sentence. 
Packed full of all the good things: action, adventure, danger, romance and half-dressed, hunk-a-licious hotties!

What inspired you to switch careers from math teacher to romance author? 
It's a crazy story of fate and timing. My husband and I moved from Michigan to Chicago, and I had a tough time finding a teaching position. So I decided to take a year off. I started volunteering at my local USO, and there I met service members from every branch of the military: wise-cracking army guys, swaggering Marines, fun-loving sailors, flirtatious airmen. I watched them all together, listened to their wild and crazy tales and fell a little bit in love with the camaraderie they shared—not to mention their special brand of humor. I'd always been an avid reader, but I suddenly discovered that I couldn't find the exact book I wanted to read—The book that took all those men from different branches of the armed services, threw them together on high-stakes missions and let the chips fall where they may. So I decided to write that book—and toss in a little romance. Because everything is better when there's a love story involved, am I right? To make a long story short (too late?), I ended up entering that book in a writing contest. To my great surprise and delight, I was a finalist. And because of that, I ended up snagging an agent who sold the book, titled Hell on Wheels, the first in my Black Knights Inc. series. The rest, as they say, is history.      

This is the first book in the Deep Six series. What inspired the new series? 
The need to write something new. I'd been living, working and writing in the Black Knights Inc. world for three years. And while I love those characters and will continue to pen their stories, I needed to stretch my imagination. A chance trip to the bookstore had me picking up a novel about the excavation of the Atocha, one of the most profitable shipwrecks ever discovered. And I asked myself the question that all writers ask themselves: "What if?" What if the holy grail of sunken Spanish shipwrecks had yet to be discovered? What if the world's greatest dive specialists—Navy SEALs—decided to go search for it? What if danger, death and destruction followed these men into their civilian lives? What if they each found love? Voila! The Deep Six series was born.  

You moved to Key West for two months to do research for this book. What sort of research were you doing? 
I was soaking it all in! As a storyteller, there's only so much I can do through research. And since I wasn't just setting one book, but an entire series in the Florida Keys, I felt like I needed to experience what it's like to live there. After all, it's the little things that bring a story to brilliant, sparkling life. If I hadn't moved to Key West, I wouldn't have known that sunsets there are like snowflakes: No two are the same. I wouldn't have known that chicken wings are a staple of the local diet or that the wild roosters that roam the island invariably wake everyone up at the crack of dawn. I wouldn't have known what the beach smells like after the tide goes out. I wouldn't have known that everyone gets excited when the shrimping fleet rolls into town. And I wouldn't have known how the water changes colors where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Atlantic. So many details, both big and small. That's what I was researching. And I loved every minute of it! 

Did you have a favorite snack while you were writing this novel? 
Oh, sweet heavens to Betsy, yes! About three blocks from the house we rented was a Cuban take-out restaurant called Bien Caribbean. They serve fire-roasted corn on the cob slathered in aioli, Parmesan cheese, cilantro, salt, paprika and fresh lime juice. My mouth is watering just thinking about that corn on the cob. It's so good, it's almost worth the price of a roundtrip plane ticket!

What’s your favorite thing about Leo and Olivia’s relationship? 
Each of them likes and respects the other. So often in romance, I feel like the stories are about characters that start out loathing each other and then BAM! They're suddenly in love. Not Leo and Olivia. They may bicker and dance around their deeper feelings, but besides the chemistry they share, they also have a history that has instilled in them mutual admiration and appreciation.

What do you think would be the best perk of dating a former SEAL? 
You mean besides his hard body, his ability to kill a man with a plastic spoon and his . .  ahem . . . endurance? No, seriously. I think the best perk of dating a SEAL would be his character. It takes a particular kind of man to become a Navy SEAL. He has to be courageous, loyal, patriotic and steadfast. And what woman wouldn't wish for all that in a boyfriend?    

 

 

Our July Top Pick is best-selling author Julie Ann Walker's action-packed romance Hell or High Water, the first in her Deep Six series about a crew of ex-SEALs and the deep-sea salvage company they run. In a 7 Questions interview, Walker tells us about her Key West research trip, the Cuban-treat that fueled her novel, the appeal of a Navy SEAL and more.
Interview by

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing J.R. Ward (onstage, no less) about her latest novel, The Bourbon Kings, during her Salon@615 appearance in Nashville. Ward is well known for her best-selling paranormal Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but with The Bourbon Kings, which was selected as our August Romance Top Pick, she steps into the contemporary, drama-filled world of Kentucky high society.

The hilarious Ward began the interview promising “No f-bombs, no cursing.” She made it seven minutes before breaking that promise.  

Tell us a bit about your new series.
I’m from Boston and New York, and I married a Southern gentleman. The textbook way of dealing with a marriage is you actually have to live with the guy that you walk down the aisle with. So when he turned to me and said, “I no longer know what I’m doing in New England,” I said, “I am not moving to Kentucky.” And we all know how that went, because if I hadn’t have moved down here I wouldn’t have written The Bourbon Kings.

They have this adage for authors that you should write what you know, and that actually didn’t work with the vampire series, because I haven’t met any vampires. But it did work very well with The Bourbon Kings. I think that one of the things that makes books interesting, aside from good conflict, is a regional vocabulary and world-building that is at once unique and captivating, something that’s sort of out of the ordinary. And I think that Southern culture and the Southern lifestyle is a very specific regional character in and of itself. I feel like the South is its own character; it’s not like any other place in the United States. 

When I first pitched the idea about five years ago, my publisher said that people love the South. They’re fascinated by it. I think there are more expectations for behavior down here; it’s not the Regency ton, but there are certain expectations that can create conflict between characters. So between me moving down here and spending 10 years in the South—really immersing myself in that culture because that’s where I live now—and recognizing that it offers some really interesting territory to explore as an author, that’s where I really came to the character of the book itself.

As an expat Yankee, did you experience any culture shock when you moved down here?
(Facial expressions galore.) No not at all. [It was a] seamless transition that made me realize that I have always been Southern my entire life. I’m a born and bred Bostonian-New Yorker. And I think my heart's always going to be up there, my hard-wiring is always going to be up there. I’m one of those annoying little people that’s always working, and I can remember dating my husband, and he’d sort of stroll down the street and I’d be power-walking. But he slowed me down, and I love living down here. I love college basketball, I love being able to have a great yard for my dog and my kid, and frankly I love the weather. I can remember moving down here and the tornado sirens going off in September, and we’re in the basement for the third night in a row. I look at my husband, and I’m like, “I’m from Boston, I don’t do this!” But now, 10 years on, I love big storms. I love that there are four seasons—Winter doesn’t last from October to May. I get back to New York for work a lot, but I love the South now.

After writing paranormal romance for so long, what inspired this new series to be in a contemporary setting?
My mentor is [best-selling mystery author] Sue Grafton, and she—Oh! I can actually curse! And it’s legal because she said it! So she said, "If you’re not scaring the shit out of yourself, you’re not working hard enough." The lawyer in me is thrilled that I found a loophole.

I love writing the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And as long as they keep talking to me, God willing, I am still going to write them. I have six books planned out at this point. But I think that it’s important that you keep challenging yourself and scaring yourself. It’s really important that you don’t go stale. And I love “Dynasty.” In case you haven’t noticed, I kind of want to be Alexis Carrington Colby?

So I love watching “Dynasty,” but I also watch the market very carefully. And it’s not that I write to the market, but I want to know what people want to read. This is a job for me. I love what I do, but I also want to publish at a really high level. So the question is, with the stuff that spits out of my brain, what are the nexuses, what are the connections, to popular culture. What are you watching on TV, what are you reading about in books and magazines—besides the freakin’ Kardashians, who I am so tired of.

But anyway, I did think it was important to try and do something else, to do something different. So when the Fallen Angels series came to its conclusion, I went to my publisher and I said I had this idea: It’s “Dynasty,” it’s “Dallas” and “Knots Landing,” it’s "Downton Abbey" in the New South—and she said, “Don’t use the word family saga or no one will ever buy it.” But she said, “Write the outline, show me what you got.” And I wrote it and she said it was really good, and I thought, “Thank God.” They bought three books, and you’ll notice the connections between it and the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Both of them have core groups of people instead of just one couple or even just one family. I love exploring an entire community, and I love exploring different dynamics in a community, people’s lives and how they interact.

So I wanted to be Alexis and this is as close as I can get.

                               
Lily McLemore (left) and J.R. Ward (right) onstage at the Nashville Public Library during her Salon@615 appearance.

What do you think will appeal most to Black Dagger Brotherhood series readers about The Bourbon Kings?
There is banging. There might be some. 

I think what you’re also going to find is really good conflict. Aside from the fact that there are romantic elements, the single thing I love best about the Black Dagger Brotherhood series is the “what’s next” factor. And I think The Bourbon Kings has that as well. I think real life is a lot like that. You always want to know what’s going to happen next.  Hopefully, that—well I don’t want to say addicting quality because that makes me sound like a crack dealer—but I mean that people will be invested enough in your stories to come back for more.

With all the luxurious details about the palatial family estate of Easterly, the beautiful gowns, and the upstairs/downstairs dynamic, this novel almost feels historical, like "Downton Abbey." Just like with a historical novel, I felt that you must have been doing some digging into Southern culture. What sort of research did you do for The Bourbon Kings?
I didn’t do a lot of research. My husband comes from a very old Southern family. And the South is full of characters. The difference between the South and the North is that Southern people actually like eccentric folk, and Northerners want to sort of iron us all out and make us all smooth and put us in boxes. And Southerners are like, “Oh they’re crazy! Fantastic!” So people have been really kind to me. Because I’m nuts.

There’s one thing that was very different [about writing The Bourbon Kings]. [With] the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, all those people were in my head, fully formed from the beginning. No people in real life influenced them at all. But I found that with The Bourbon Kings, there are some Southern characters that I have met that are such caricatures of themselves, that they’re in The Bourbon Kings. Lizzie and Greta are both based on two of my really good friends; Samuel T. Lodge is based on one of my husband’s hunting buddies; one of my poker player friends is the Master Distiller, just because they’re such evocative people. And that’s a departure for me. They’re not exact, they’re sort of broadly representative of these people, because they’re just so fascinating, just wonderful characters. So I didn’t do a lot of research; I just lived here for 10 years.

I was struck by the world-building of the estate of Easterly—and Easterly is another world. You’re known for your detailed world-building in paranormal romances, and I was wondering how the writing process differed for The Bourbon Kings?
It really didn’t. Other than being at a cocktail party and being like, “You’re going in the book.” There are some grand Southern estates that still exist, that have [a huge] number of people working in them. And you’re right, it is almost historical. You go into these homes and see the lifestyles. There almost isn’t a place in modern life for it anymore. The idea that your needs are so completely catered to by other people, and that you’re experiencing your own home as a hotel that has waves of gardeners and rules for what door [workers] can go out. It’s so captivating because you think to yourself, “This can’t exist anymore.” I find it charming, I find it slightly frightening and naïve, but most of all I find it captivating. The idea that modern life has very few rules anymore in terms of who you can marry, who you can be with, who you can associate with, what you wear—and there’s a certain stratosphere that those rules that existed a hundred years ago are still in place. And God save you if you violate them. So I kind of wanted to bring that forward.

Without spoiling any plot elements, I can say that there are some elements of mystery in this series, which is new for you.  What was it like building in an overarching mystery?
Have you ever been in an out of control car? I have, not once but several times, and I drive the way I write, which is not good. I have no control over anything. What happens is, when I start to write, the pictures in my head start going, and if I try to tweak them in any way, they stop. And I am a bona-fide blonde. I’m not that bright. I am not capable of thinking these stories up, so I step back and let them do what they’re going to do. And my job is to record what I’m seeing on the page. I go with what I’m shown. I don’t have any conscious thought of introducing anything into the series. When I outline the book, I need to know where I’m going. A lot of thought goes into the outlining process, but it’s just a function of putting into some chronology that is logical that which I’m being shown in my head.

I love bourbon, so I have to ask. Do you have a favorite bourbon drink?
I don’t drink alcohol. And isn’t that a relief—can you imagine this shit drunk?


RELATED CONTENT: Read our review of The Bourbon Kings.

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This interview has been edited for length and content. 
(Author photo by Andrew Hyslop)

 

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing J.R. Ward (onstage, no less) about her latest novel, The Bourbon Kings, during her Salon615 appearance in Nashville. Ward is well known for her best-selling paranormal Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but with The Bourbon Kings, she steps into the contemporary world of Kentucky high society.
Interview by

There’s no better time for romance than the holidays! Celebrate the season with A Knights Bridge Christmas by Carla Neggers, the story of a harried doctor and the woman who helps him slow down and enjoy life—and decorate his grandmother's home for Christmas. In a 7 Questions interview, we asked Neggers about libraries, small towns and her own holiday traditions. 

Describe your book in one sentence.
In A Knights Bridge Christmas, a busy ER doctor enlists a young widow to help him decorate his grandmother’s house for Christmas in her small New England hometown, and the hope, love and memories they discover are more than either ever imagined.

How do you toggle between writing the charming romances of your Swift River Valley series and your romantic suspense novels?
I love writing these two series! I hear from readers who enjoy diving into both worlds, and I feel the same as a writer. The small town of Knights Bridge in the Swift River Valley series and the small FBI unit and community in the Sharpe and Donovan series feature characters tested in different ways, but the issues of trust, love, family and hope they face aren’t all that different. I often think of beloved author Mary Stewart, who reportedly eschewed labels for her writing and once said, “'Storyteller' is an old and honorable title, and I’d like to lay claim to it.”

How did you settle on the career of librarian for Clare Morgan, the heroine of A Knights Bridge Christmas?
Knights Bridge needed a new librarian after Phoebe O’Dunn, who grew up in town, resigned when she became engaged to Noah Kendrick, a Southern California billionaire. As much as she loved her job, she’s embracing a new life. Clare was perfect for the job! She wanted a fresh start for herself and her young son, and the people of Knights Bridge have welcomed her, giving her space but also keeping a protective eye on her.

What’s your favorite thing about the relationship between Clare and ER doctor Logan?
The chemistry between Clare and Logan! It’s unmistakable from the start, but the spirit of the Christmas season, the small-town traditions of Knights Bridge and the old house Clare and Logan are decorating—filled with reminders of his grandparents’ long marriage—all play into their relationship. Logan is the type to move fast and push hard, but his grandparents’ hometown and its new librarian force him to slow down and take care of what truly matters.

You grew up in rural Massachusetts. Do you draw from your own experiences when writing about the small New England town of Knights Bridge?
Oh, yes. Knights Bridge is fictional, but the area where it’s located is real. Our family homestead is on the edge of Quabbin Reservoir, a huge pre-World War II project that changed this part of New England forever. As a kid, I’d climb a tree with pad and pen and look out at the Quabbin “accidental wilderness,” as I wrote, imagining the lives of the people who’d lived in the small towns razed to create the reservoir. I also spent countless hours in my hometown library, which is the inspiration for the Knights Bridge library—including the rumors that it’s haunted.

What’s your favorite thing about the holiday season?
Christmas carols! I’m especially fond of the traditional carols like “Joy to the World,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.” Every Christmas Eve, we listen to “Nine Lessons and Carols” from England on the radio. For me, the Christmas season connects the joys of the past and the hope of the future through our traditions and celebrations. Carols are one of those traditions. Not that I can sing, mind you.

Do you have any holiday traditions you’re looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to our annual Christmas Eve tea. It’s a tradition that started out of necessity given varying family schedules. This year, we’re adjusting the menu because our 6-year-old grandson has been diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that means he can’t consume any gluten. I am learning how to make creme brule, which is naturally gluten-free. A new twist on our Christmas tea tradition!

Author photo by Julie Ireland

There’s no better time for romance than the holidays! Celebrate the season with A Knights Bridge Christmas by Carla Neggers, the story of a harried doctor and the woman who helps him slow down and enjoy life—and decorate his grandmother's home for Christmas. In a 7 Questions interview, we asked Neggers about libraries, small towns and her own holiday traditions.
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Our Top Pick in March Romance is Cindy Gerard's pulse-pounding Taking Fire, the story of two brave military heroes struggling with their feelings for each other—and struggling to stay alive. We asked Gerard to tell us about her extensive warfare and weaponry research, her favorite type of heroines and her many pets!

Describe your novel in one sentence.
From the first page to the last, Taking Fire is an emotionally riveting and explosively charged rocket of a read, as Talia and Taggart struggle with betrayal and retribution and they fight their way toward redemption.

Talia is a strong, brave woman who must make life-or-death decisions on the fly. What’s your favorite kind of heroine to write?
Talia is a great example. She's been through the fire, lit the fire and fanned the flames. How can you not love to write about a kick-ass heroine like that?

There is a lot of detail about warfare and weaponry in your One-Eyed Jack and Black Ops Inc. series. What sort of research do you do for this series?
I've been writing romantic military suspense for over 10 years now. My research is extensive, from military procedural books to true accounts such as Generation Kill, Blackhawk Down and One Bullet Away, to articles in various military publications. My best sources, however, are my many friends in the military or in private security work. You want to know the best weapon to take out a tank? You go to the guy who's done it. You want to know how to commandeer a chopper out from under the nose of the military in the Philippines? Again, you go to the guy who knows how to get it done. Accuracy is everything, and I've been fortunate enough to rely on people who have been there, done that.

What  initially drew you to romantic suspense?
I've always loved romance. And I've always loved the thrill of a great suspense novel. So it seemed the perfect marriage for me to join the two together.

Have you ever considered writing a series that wasn’t romantic suspense?
Sure. Every writer has a little somethin' somethin' of an idea tucked away that they want to dust off and finish when they have the time. I love straight-out thrillers and might like to try my hand at one in the future.

Tell us about some of the pets in your life!
There's not enough room to go into detail :o) The hubby and I have six quarter horses, two dogs, two house cats, and I have two fresh water aquariums. We also feed a lot of wild birds. Needless to say, we love our critters, the dogs (Margaret the Brittany Spaniel and Tater the Cavapoo) and the cats (Buddy and Sly, both rescues). However, they don't think of themselves as critters. They think of themselves as puppet masters and truth to tell, they are quite skilled at making us dance to their tune. We adore them all.

What’s next for you?
Oh, boy. I'm still pondering that question myself. I HOPE I let myself know soon, as this waiting is driving me crazy :o)


Thank you, Cindy!
 

Our Top Pick in March Romance is Cindy Gerard's pulse-pounding Taking Fire, the story of two brave military heroes struggling with their feelings for each other—and struggling to stay alive. We asked Gerard to tell us about her research on warfare, her favorite type of heroines and her many pets!
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Emily March's charming story of second chance love, Reunion Pass, is our Romance Top Pick for April. We asked the New York Times bestselling author about the Colorado Rockies and her ideal desert-island hero—and even wheedled out a cherished recipe.

Describe your latest novel in one sentence.
Reunion Pass is the romance that Eternity Springs readers have been asking for since the first book in the series, and it explores whether or not young love can truly stand the tests of time—when aided by dogs, family, friends and maybe an angel.

What inspired you to set your Eternity Springs series in the Colorado Rockies?
My family has Colorado roots, and I spent every summer in the Colorado Rockies when I was growing up. It's such a beautiful place, and when I decided to create a world that may or may not be populated by an angel, I couldn't think of a more heavenly and appropriate spot. 

What’s your favorite thing about the series (and town!) Eternity Springs?
My favorite thing about Eternity Springs is that I regularly get emails from readers who say they want to live in Eternity Springs. That’s how I know I’ve done a good job.

If you had to be trapped on a desert island with one fictional character, who would it be?
Initially, I thought of Roarke [from J.D. Robb’s In Death series], but he is so happily married that choosing him doesn’t seem right.  So, I’m going with Harry Dresden [from The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher].

What’s your guilty pleasure?
Long, hot, candlelit, scented baths with a glass or two of nice red wine and a historical romance novel.

Last year you went on a cruise to Lisbon, Portugal, with fellow romance author Christina Dodd! What was your favorite moment from the trip?
Had to have been the night we joined the captain for dinner and plotted murder at sea with fellow diners—a hostage negotiator, a British magazine publisher with strong opinions about “puerile” fiction, an American ex-pat paper artist and a South African lawyer. Guess who I wanted to push overboard.

Your author site mentions a legendary jalapeño relish . . . Dare we ask for the recipe?
Well . . . since you asked nicely:

Emily March’s Jalapeño Relish for Tailgate Fame 

Ingredients:

6 jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups apple cider vinegar
4 small yellow onions, chopped
1/4 cup of carrots, chopped
1 teaspoon dill seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed

Cooking Instructions:

In a saucepan, add apple cider vinegar and sugar over low heat. Mix until sugar is dissolved.
Add jalapeño peppers, onion, and carrots.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add mustard and dill.
Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Great with brats or hamburgers or brisket. Mix it into cream cheese for a wonderful dip. Is it football season yet?

Looking for more romance? Sign up for our monthly romance newsletter, Smitten!

 

Author photo by Kelly Williams Photography.

 
Emily March's charming story of second chance love, Reunion Pass, is our Romance Top Pick for April. We asked March a few questions about the Colorado Rockies, the ideal hero on a desert isle and even wheedle out a cherished recipe.
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There’s a reason Susan Elizabeth Phillips has been crowned the Queen of Romantic Comedy. Since publishing her first romance novel in 1983, Phillips has become known for her signature sense of humor and her relatable, flawed and lovable heroines. Not only that, Phillips created the genre of sports romance, has hit the New York Times bestseller list multiple times and was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame in 2001.

Phillips’ latest novel, First Star I See Tonight, is the eighth in her popular Chicago Stars series and our September Romance Top Pick. Heroine Piper Dove is trying to get her fledgling detective agency off the ground. Her first assignment is to follow recently retired Chicago Stars quarterback Cooper Graham—and she’s failing miserably. But luckily for Piper, Cooper is in need of someone to keep an eye on the employees at his new nightclub, and he hires the headstrong Piper. The pair grate on each other’s last nerve, but they can’t deny a certain spark when they’re together. Nor can they deny that someone has it out for Cooper, and Piper may be the only one who can protect him.  

“We have these two extremely determined people, both of them highly competitive, going head to head,” Phillips says. With most romances, the attraction between the hero and heroine is instant and all consuming. But Phillips prefers to make things a bit more difficult for her characters. “There is an instant animosity. . . . I like this active dislike and how they work through that, and watching that whole journey—that is just my favorite sort of story to tell.” 

A return to the ever-popular Chicago Stars football team wasn’t initially in her plans. In fact, Phillips thought she had closed the series in 2001 with This Heart of Mine. “I really felt at that point that I couldn’t bring anything fresh to the whole series, to that story of the football player,” she says. But after a few years, she felt the pull of Chicago again, and if she’s thinking about setting a novel in Chicago, the Stars inevitably creep into her thoughts, along with fresh takes on the Stars’ many players, agents and the women who love them. “My husband says the Chicago Stars have had more retired quarterbacks than any team in the NFL.” 

One refrain in First Star I See Tonight is Piper’s struggle with sexism. Overt femininity doesn’t come naturally to Piper. She’s trained in offensive and defensive driving, can take down a man twice her size and is most comfortable in a sweatshirt. Yet she struggles to be taken seriously by men. Phillips doesn’t shy away from tackling the issue of sexism. “I think when you’re writing about women, this is something you have to think about. . . . When you’ve got a heroine in a very masculine world, this is something she’s going to have to deal with.” 

Phillips came of age in the 1960s and ’70s, a time when many things we think of as routine today, like a married woman getting a credit card under her own name, were impossible. It was also a time when women’s issues were making their way onto the national stage. “So many young women today don’t know about [how things were then]. So when I hear women say, oh, I’m not a feminist, I just roll my eyes. I think, Honey, if you’d been there when I was there, you would be.” When I ask Phillips, who was involved in the childbirth movement in the 1970s, if she would call herself a feminist, she doesn’t hesitate. “Absolutely! I think almost every romance writer I know would consider herself a feminist. We write about strong women.” 

However, this wasn’t always the case in the romance novel world. When the genre first burst onto the publishing scene in the 1970s and early ’80s, there was one disturbingly popular trope: rape. As a modern romance reader, this trend from the past has always baffled me. According to Phillips, I’m not alone. “Those books don’t necessarily stand the test of time very well. Younger readers do not get those books.” But Phillips has a fascinating theory as to why such a violent act was portrayed as an act of passion instead of a crime. “We grew up having to be good girls. And that meant no sex out of marriage. So the only way you could have great sex outside of marriage was if it wasn’t your fault. That’s where it all came from. And did any of us who were reading that want to be raped? Absolutely not! It was a total fantasy, and it was a reaction to the way we had been brought up.”

Romance writing has changed a lot since then, and Phillips has been there at every turn. “I pretty much got to see it all,” she says. When Phillips started her career, the publishing industry had been working the same way for 50 years. “Then, through the course of my career, I watched the rise of social media, the complete change in the way readers and writers now interact and, of course, the whole eBook phenomenon.” Phillips, who wrote her first few books on a typewriter, says that watching these changes has been exciting. As for her next move? “You know, I’m just exploring,” she says. “So we’re just gonna see where things go.” Let’s hope that exploration leads to a new novel in the near future.  

Author photo by Peter Irman.

There’s a reason why Susan Elizabeth Phillips has been crowned Queen of Romantic Comedy. Since publishing her first romance novel in 1983, Phillips has made a name for herself with her charming romances written with humor and her relatable, flawed and lovable heroines.
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We sat down with Jennifer Ryan more than two years ago at the 2014 RWA Conference in San Antonio, back when she was looking forward to her print debut, and this month, her latest novel, Her Renegade Rancher, is our Romance Top Pick. In this interview, we talk to Ryan about what's changed in the years since our first chat, why she prefers cowboys and more. 

Describe your latest novel in one sentence.
A sexy Montana rancher rekindles a once-thought forbidden romance and puts his life on the line to be her renegade rancher.

When we met up with you in 2014, you were looking forward to your debut print novel. What’s changed in your romance world since then?
So many wonderful things have happened. Since my debut Saved by the Rancher came out, I’ve become a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and published The Hunted, McBride and Montana Men series for a total of 17 novels and novellas once His Cowboy Heart comes out in February 2017. I’ve met so many of my goals and written the books that excited and challenged me. I love what I do and wouldn’t want to do anything else. Which is why I’m always dreaming up new ideas for the next series. The success I’ve achieved has proven to me—and been a great example for my kids—that if you work hard, stick with it through the ups and downs and learn all you can about what you want to do, you will achieve what you set your mind to do.

A cowboy, a billionaire businessman and a pirate walk into a bar. Who do you choose?
Hands down, I’ll take the cowboy! Any guy who works hard, plays harder, loves their woman and thinks that home and family is everything is the one for me.

Your series is called Montana Men. Have you ever travelled to Montana?
No. Believe it or not, I live in Northern California where we have a lot of farming and ranching. As a young girl, I got to go to my friend’s small ranch and ride horses. I loved it. A lot of people who hear the word “cowboy” don’t think of California, so I set the series in the one place that I would love to visit. I love the great outdoors, and you can’t beat the Montana landscape. Big Sky country is an amazing backdrop for romance—and a little suspense.

What’s your favorite thing about your heroine, Luna Hill?
Her heart. She’s dedicated to her friends and preserving the legacy she unexpectedly inherits and loves with her whole heart. She’s got an inner strength that shines through and helps her cope when times are tough—two things Colt loves about her.

If you were to write a historical romance novel, what time period would it be set in and why?
I have a serious addiction to reading historical novels. I love getting lost in another time and place. Scottish laird books are my favorite, so if I ever wrote a historical, it would probably be a big, strapping laird—they’re kind of like Scottish cowboys, right?

What’s next for you?
After Her Renegade Rancher, I’ve got the last two Montana Men books. Luna’s sexy lawyer gets an unexpected surprise in Snowbound at Christmas, and Colt’s brother Ford gets a second chance at love when Jamie returns from the military to claim His Cowboy Heart.

 

We talked to Jennifer Ryan over two years ago at the 2014 RWA Conference in San Antonio, back when she was looking forward to her print debut, and this month, her latest novel, Her Renegade Rancher, is our Romance Top Pick.
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Debbie Macomber is a many-times-over New York Times bestselling author known for her compelling and multifaceted contemporary romances and her annual Christmas novels. Her holiday offering this year, Twelve Days of Christmas, is our Top Pick in Romance for December. We asked Macomber a few questions about the idyllic town in Washington where she lives, her favorite holiday traditions and more. 

Describe your latest novel in one sentence.
Twelve Days of Christmas is a story about a woman’s experiment of killing someone with kindness and learning that she is the one who is affected most. 

How long have you been writing your annual Christmas romances, and what sparked the idea?
I believe I started writing a Christmas story as early as the mid-1990s. In other words, a long time. 

As for what sparked the idea for Twelve Days of Christmas . . . It came about from an incident I had while Christmas shopping. A woman stole my parking spot just as I was about to park. I didn’t exactly have Christian thoughts at the time, and wished I’d handled the situation differently. 

When we meet Cain, he’s quite the rude Scrooge. Were there any challenges to writing such an initially unlikable hero?
My heroine’s dislike of Cain is initially sparked by another incident that happened to me. Wayne and I lived in a condo and someone took our newspaper. Again, the Christian side of me was absent that day. It was interesting to explore why someone might lift another person’s newspaper and why they would be grumpy in the morning, aside from not being a morning person.

Christmas doesn’t mean much to Cain, but to me, it means a great deal. I find it valuable to write characters that aren’t like me because they help me to understand another person’s point of view or motivation.

What turned out to be your favorite trait of Cain’s?
I needed something that would show his tender side, and that became apparent in the way he cared for his grandfather. No one is all good or all bad. There needs to be a balance. 

Tell us about your two businesses in Port Orchard, Washington, a place that has inspired many of your romance novels.
The Grey House Café has recently been renovated with new carpeting, tables and chairs, and a fresh coat of paint inside and out. They also carry my books and many are autographed, plus we’re fortunate to have a Hallmark store within that features gift and tea items. The café still serves the same great menu with a few new items to stimulate the appetite.

My yarn store, A Good Yarn Shop, closed in November after eight wonderful years of friendship and community. I hope to encourage knitters and crocheters to continue with community and a sense of giving by contributing to Knit One, Bless Two or World Vision’s Knit for Kids

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?
Oh my, that’s difficult to answer because I enjoy them all. I look forward to baking cookies with the grandkids, shopping with them for other children who are less fortunate, family Bingo. I love our family buffet feast on Christmas Day, lighting the candles on the Advent wreath and hosting Christmas Teas for my author, knitting and swimming friends. Christmas Eve church service is so meaningful to me. All those add up to a beautiful holiday season.

What’s next for you?
My husband and I are taking an extended cruise in which I plan to empty my mind and gather new ideas for more books to come. Publishing wise, my next book is titled If Not For You, which is a story of healing and hope. 

(Author photo by Deborah Feingold.)

Debbie Macomber is a number one bestselling author known for her compelling and multifaceted contemporary romances and her annual Christmas novels. Her holiday offering this year, Twelve Days of Christmas, was chosen as our Top Pick in Romance for December. We asked Macomber a few questions about the idyllic town in Washington where she lives, her favorite holiday traditions and more.
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We talk to Catherine Anderson about her new novel, Mulberry Moon, her great love of animals and her [avoidance of] New Year's resolutions.

Describe your latest novel in one sentence. 
Mulberry Moon features people at their best and worst, their triumphs over the hard knocks of life and the beautiful transformation that love can bring about, both between a man and a woman and an estranged mother and daughter.

Ben is a big animal lover. Is this a trait you share? 
I love all kinds of animals, large or small. I adore my son’s horses, our dogs, our cats, the deer and elk on our field and my appreciation extends to fowl, wild or domestic. I do prefer to admire bears, cougars and moose from a safe distance though . . . We have a great horned owl on our new land in Montana. He has decided that the peaks of our new home, which are higher than all the trees on our land, are a far better roost than the old snag he always used. And tonight, to my delight, I discovered that he has a mate. I am looking forward to spring and great horned owl babies! So, yes, I am definitely an animal enthusiast, and that comes across in my work.

Sissy has had a difficult life. What do you admire most about her? 
I admire Sissy’s determination and success at being a woman who can stand on her own two feet without needing a male counterpart. Though she may yearn for a relationship with a good man, she is committed to her independence, which, in the end, allows her to fall in love without any actual need, but rather a realization that Ben can enrich her life, and vice versa, in ways she never contemplated. She grows as the book unfolds and comes to understand that loving someone doesn’t mean she is a possession or a person who can’t survive alone. I think this is an empowering message to all women, including me.

Does your 160-acre home in the Central Oregon forest inspire your work? 
Oh, yes. Cinnamon Ridge is incredibly beautiful. But I recently moved to Montana and now enjoy vistas that are equally, if not more, inspiring.  I’m having a huge adventure here and coming to love this awesome state.

What does a romantic evening for you look like? 
For me, a romantic evening isn’t necessarily about the stage props. The setting itself isn’t as important to me as the person I’m with. An evening walk almost anywhere can be romantic. Eating take-out pizza can be romantic with the right man. Meaningful conversation, holding hands and kissing beneath a night sky is enough for me to set the mood.

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions? 
I tend to avoid making resolutions on New Year’s. I’ve learned that doing so sets me up for failure. I prefer to really think about making a challenging change at some other time of the year when I’m focused on the realities that I will face. Then I plan my battle strategy. 

What’s next for you? 
Right now, I’m writing a Christmas love story. The working title is The Christmas Room.

We talk to Catherine Anderson about her new novel, Mulberry Moon, her great love of animals and her [avoidance of] New Year's resolutions.

Fans of romantic comedies love a meet cute, and in her young adult debut, Sandhya Menon adds an Indian tradition to this time-tested trope: Her characters’ parents have arranged their marriage.

As When Dimple Met Rishi opens, 18-year-old Dimple Shah has graduated from high school and been accepted to Stanford. She loves iced coffee and coding, but not her mother’s incessant harping about her appearance and future wifehood. She’s thrilled when her parents send her to Insomnia Con, a summer program for budding coders at San Francisco State University. On the first day, Dimple sits on the SFSU campus, eyes closed, sipping iced coffee and feeling hopeful that maybe, just maybe, her parents were “finally beginning to realize she was her own person, with a divergent, more modern belief system.”

But her tranquility is shattered when she hears a friendly male voice say, “Hello, future wife.” A horrified shriek and an iced-coffee-flying-through-the-air later, Rishi Patel is left dripping, and Dimple (fleeing at a dead sprint) is worried she has a stalker.

“There is a magic to true love and finding the perfect person. Even if your parents preordain it—that still helps you find love.”

This doesn’t seem like an auspicious beginning to a beautiful relationship, but—thanks to Menon’s warm, funny characters and a story that sensitively and evenhandedly explores what happens when traditional values and modern ideas collide—readers know better.

At first, though, Dimple doesn’t. She’s spent so many years defending herself against her relentlessly overbearing mother that’s she’s understandably twitchy about dating. Besides, she’s at Insomnia Con to code! Rishi, who’s been accepted to MIT, is there to code, too—but also because his and Dimple’s parents plotted to throw them together and nudge them toward marriage.

“I think arranged marriage is still fairly misunderstood in America,” Menon says from Colorado, where she lives with her husband and two children. “On TV, you usually see really old guys marrying helpless, vulnerable women, but that’s not what it’s like in my family and the families I knew growing up. I wanted to portray arranged marriage as it’s more commonly found in middle-class India.”

Menon grew up in India and came to America at age 15. While her marriage wasn’t arranged, she says, “Pretty much all of my relatives’ were, so it’s pretty normal for me to think about it.”

In Dimple and Rishi’s case, the two have more in common than they realize: Just as Dimple always feels like she’s not good enough for her parents, Rishi feels distant from his own. His dad urges him toward a practical business education, despite Rishi’s love for drawing comics.

However, Rishi is more in tune with his parents when it comes to marriage: He trusts them and believes in the importance of tradition. Of course, because he’s male, he hasn’t experienced a lifetime of being told to wear more makeup and to stop caring about school so he can focus on becoming marriage material.

Menon notes that in Indian culture, especially for daughters, it can be “hard to see past your mother constantly telling you how you should be, how things should be, what you should change. It’s hard to see that as coming from a place of love, or that it’s the only way they know how to communicate [that] they want you to end up in a good place in life.”

For Menon, this divide was a crucial addition to the story. “It’s a very universal experience for anyone with a controlling parent,” she says. “In the end, Dimple’s mom was really proud of her and wanted what was best for her, even if that was communicated in a convoluted way.”

As in any good rom-com, time passes and the two get to know each other, allowing perspectives to shift and defenses to weaken. Dimple realizes that Rishi is a good, talented person who stands up for her when it matters. (It doesn’t hurt that he’s handsome, too.) And Rishi acknowledges that fierce, lovely Dimple has been experiencing arranged-marriage pressure in a very different, demoralizing way—and that perhaps it’s OK to pursue something he’s passionate about.

Menon’s own experience of feeling torn between Indian traditions and American social mores is one of the main reasons why she loved writing this book. “I know what it’s like to grapple with the question, how much Indian am I?”

She explains that it got easier in college. “People came to assume I’d been born here . . . and I started to find my place a bit more. I started writing more and expressing myself through art. It was a really freeing thing for me to do—to feel like there’s this thing I can share with people, and they can accept that, even if they can’t accept every part of me just yet.”

When asked if she’s more like practical Dimple or romantic Rishi, Menon laughs and denies being a romantic. “I love to write [romance] and read it and watch it in Bollywood movies, but in my personal life I’m much more practical,” she says.

“I do think there’s a kind of magic to love. My super-logical brain says it’s all chemistry . . . but there is a magic to true love and finding the perfect person. Even if your parents preordain it—that still helps you find love.”

 

This article was originally published in the June 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Fans of romantic comedies love a meet cute, and in her young adult debut, Sandhya Menon adds an Indian tradition to this time-tested trope: Her characters’ parents have arranged their marriage.

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