How much I love Rom-Coms!
Good morning and thank you so much for allowing me to hang with you for the day. I’m so excited about my latest release, No Cooldown For Love. It’s a romantic comedy. My name is Aliyah Burke and I am an author that pens across many genres. From historical to paranormal to contemporary and even… Read More
Aliyah Burke
Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached here. She is married to a career military man. They are owned by three Borzoi, and a DSH cat. She spends her days sharing time between work, writing, and dog training, showing, and racing.
DIGGING DEEP
PLAYING FOR KEEPS was a tough book for me to write. I’d always had the meet cute in mind – a security guard is called to investigate a woman who is disturbing the peace, by eating ice cream while wearing beaver slippers – but it took me a while to really get to excavate the… Read More
Julie Hammerle
USA Today bestselling author Julie Hammerle writes young adult novels that focus on nerds, geeks, and basket cases falling in love. On the YA side, she is the author of The Sound of Us (Entangled TEEN, 2016) and the North Pole romance series (Entangled Crush, 2017). For adult romances, check out Knocked-Up Cinderella. A graduate of Butler University with degrees in secondary education and Latin with a minor in music, Julie lives in Chicago with her family and enjoys reading, cooking, and watching all the television.
Cruising for a Setting
A setting can sometimes make or break a story, or an author trying to create a story. Settings can be a silent background member, adding ambiance and subtle support. Or settings can be larger than life, a character with their own agenda. In A Cruise Fling, my next romcom, the cruise ship setting is very… Read More
Laura Brown
Laura Brown lives in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Her husband's put up with her since high school, her young son keeps her on her toes, and her two cats think they deserve more scratches. Hearing loss is a big part of who she is, from her own hard of hearing ears, to the characters she creates.
Sports Romance – a favorite of mine to write and read
Hello and good morning! Thanks for hanging out with me today. I love writing sports romance. To me there’s something touching about the sports player, male or female, who is used to getting pretty much anything and everything they want because of their ‘star’ status having to work for the one thing I feel all… Read More
Aliyah Burke
Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached here. She is married to a career military man. They are owned by three Borzoi, and a DSH cat. She spends her days sharing time between work, writing, and dog training, showing, and racing.
What Do a Scientist and a Spy See in Each Other?
I had an author friend once tell me that your hero and heroine should be the absolute worst people in the world for each other. Anything less just wouldn’t be compelling enough to keep readers turning pages. My personal feeling is that’s a tad, well, overboard. But the basic idea definitely creates conflict. Which is… Read More
Christi Barth
Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage. A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes award-winning contemporary romance, including the Naked Men and Aisle Bound series. Christi can always be found whipping up gourmet meals (for fun, honest!) or with her nose in a book. She lives in Maryland with the best husband in the world.
Meet-cute-Disasters
Romance readers love a good meet-cute. I bet most readers can recite their favorite meet-cute from memory. Me? I like to write what I call meet-disasters. Take that first moment of the love interests meeting and dial up the awkward. For example, in The Wedding Dilemma, the couple met when he had to rescue her… Read More
Mariah Ankenman
Bestselling author Mariah Ankenman lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her two rambunctious daughters and loving husband who provides ample inspiration for her heart-stopping heroes. Her books have been nominated for the prestigious RWA Golden Heart and CRW Stiletto awards. Whether she's writing hometown heroes or sexy supernaturals, Mariah loves to lose herself in a world of words. Her favorite thing about writing is when she can make someone's day a little brighter with one of her books.
When a hero comes along…do you swipe left or right?
I love classic romance heroes, and after writing No Rescue Required, the latest in my matchmaking series, Smart Cupid, I wondered which classic hero would make the best modern-day book boyfriend. Is a contemporary heroine more compatible with the broody guy whose passionate depths know no limits? Or the sexy, devoted guy with a big… Read More
Maggie Kelley
After ten years of survival, aka working, in Hollywood, this former actress and current author of sexy contemporary romance is living happily-ever-after in Pittsburgh with her longtime sweetie, AKA Husband Number 1, and their two punky kids. When not carpooling to birthday parties or testing her gourmet cooking skills by throwing a frozen pizza into the oven, Maggie daydreams about sneaking off to the Vegas or Napa, or even just the movies. A love of red wine, Italian food, and music round out her list of life's greatest joys. Oh, and Tuesday night karaoke, totally underrated fun.
Miles and Miles of Adventure
by Jennifer Bonds It’s that time of year when so many of us will be hitting the road to visit loved ones, celebrate the holidays, and make memories with a warm hug and a bright smile! I don’t know about you, but I’ve always loved road trips. Give me all the snacks, the loud music,… Read More
Jennifer Bonds
Jennifer Bonds writes sizzling contemporary romance with sassy heroines, sexy heroes, and a whole lot of mischief. When she's not writing or wrangling toddlers, she can be found curled up with a good book and a bottle of wine. Jennifer lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where her overactive imagination and weakness for reality TV keep life interesting. She's lucky enough to live with her own real life hero, two adorable children, and a pair of rambunctious dogs. Loves Buffy, Mexican food, the Winchester brothers, and all things zombie. Sings off-key.
Don’t Give Up Before Joy Kicks In
Do you ever wonder if you’ve chosen the right path for your life? I know, I know, a deep topic for a fun writing blog, but I’ve got an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old smack in the middle of college. What are they going to be when they grow up? Have they chosen majors that will… Read More
Amanda Usen
Amanda Usen knows two things for certain: chocolate cheesecake is good for breakfast and a hot chef can steal your heart. Her husband stole hers on the first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America. They married after graduation in a lovely French Quarter restaurant in New Orleans. After enjoying the food and the fun in the Big Easy for a few years, they returned to Western New York to raise a family. Amanda spends her early mornings writing romance and the rest of the day writing copy for a marketing agency.She loves books, yoga, cheese, chocolate, and carbs in all forms. When she's not writing, she can usually be found reading a book or fooling around in the kitchen.
Opposites Attract
The last few months in the McLean household has been nothing short of chaotic. I have found myself, in those moments when I just need to take a break, indulging in a new obsession – restocking and organizing videos on TikTok. I stumbled upon these magical little tidbits of cleanliness and ASMR perfection by chance… Read More
Michelle McLean
Michelle McLean is a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who is addicted to chocolate and goldfish crackers and spent most of her formative years with her nose in a book. She has a B.S. in History, a M.A. in English, and loves her romance with a touch of suspenseful mystery. She resides in PA with her husband and two amazing children
There’s Just Something About Small Towns
Hey y’all! I’m Aliyah Burke and I’m honored to be here today. Thanks for joining me. I write romance—paranormal, historical, and contemporary—as well as cozy mysteries. Small towns. I love them. Love living in them. Love writing about them. Not as much of a fan of the fact everyone knows my business, but it’s still… Read More
Aliyah Burke
Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached here. She is married to a career military man. They are owned by three Borzoi, and a DSH cat. She spends her days sharing time between work, writing, and dog training, showing, and racing.
Writing Enemies to Lovers When You Want Everyone to Get Along
I’ve always wanted to write an enemies to lovers story. There’s a big problem with that, my characters have a tendency to quickly fall into, “her eyes, her laugh, I’ve loved her since we first met!” which doesn’t work for an enemies beginning! Add to that my own desire for everyone to get along, and… Read More
Laura Brown
Laura Brown lives in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Her husband's put up with her since high school, her young son keeps her on her toes, and her two cats think they deserve more scratches. Hearing loss is a big part of who she is, from her own hard of hearing ears, to the characters she creates.
Latest from our Blog
The Vestal Virgins
On my recent trip to Rome to finish researching St. Cecilia’s life for my historical fiction novel, Virgin Martyr, I spent some time at the Temple of Vesta and the home of the ancient Roman Vestal Virgins. One of my purposes in writing this book was to investigate how attitudes about women’s sexuality and social… Read More
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