Scribbling Women & the Real-Life Romance Heroes Who Love Them
by Leslie Carroll, May McGoldrick, Jacquie D'Alessandro, Deanna Raybourn, J. Kenner, Heather McCollum

In Scribbling Women and the Real-Life Romance Heroes Who Love Them, twenty-eight romance fiction writers from diverse subgenres reveal their real-life stories of how they met, wed and love---and are loved and supported by---their spouses and life partners. At times whimsical and laugh-out-loud funny (Jacquie D'Alessandro's "Donny & Me?", Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick's "Soul Mates for a Thousand Lifetimes"), at others poignant and bittersweet (Elf Ahearn's "A Lost Friend, A Movie Star, A Man to Love Forever"), all unfailingly inspiring (Lisa Renée Jones's "Unexpected Treasures"; Deanna Raybourn's "Once in a Blue Moon"), each essay celebrates that most powerful and sacred of human bonds.

Love.

Happily Ever After isn't only the stuff of romance novels and fairy tales. It is every woman's birthright.

Contributors:

Once in a Blue Moon by Deanna Raybourn
Soul Mates for a Thousand Lifetimes; or, Diary of Two Cosmic Stalkers by May McGoldrick
Donny & Me by Jacquie D'Alessandro
Unexpected Treasures by Lisa Renee Jones
A "Killer" Wedding by J. Kenner
A Lost Friend, A Movie Star, A Man to Love Forever by Elf Ahearn
Real Life & Real Love by Katharine Ashe
Love Is All Around by Donna Grant
Wedding 101 for the Anti-Bridezilla by Patience Bloom
Holding Out for a Hero by Leslie Carroll
Socks by Sandals by Katana Collins
Pasta for Dinner by Suzan Colón
Stuck on the Italian Boy by Carole Bellacera
Love at First Sight? by Caryn Moya Block
A Leap of Faith Straight to the Altar by Sonali Dev
When You Come Home by Carlene Love Flores
Falling in Love with the Intern by Megan Frampton
Acceptance by Leanna Renee Hieber
Resting Easy by K.M. Jackson
Once Upon a Dream by Delilah Marvelle
Falling for my Husband by Jen McLaughlin
For Better or For Worse by Heather McCollum
Working Our Way to a Happily Ever After by Cindy Nord
Crossing by Pond by Mary Rodgers
Thanks to Uisce Beatha (Water of Life) by Kat Simons
Catch Me When I Fall by Sara Jane Stone
Everything Is Perfect by Elisabeth Staab
Speeding Down the Relationship Super Highway by Hope Tarr

Other Books by Leslie Carroll

Inglorious Royal Marriages
A Demi-Millennium of Unholy Mismatrimony

Royal Romances
Titillating Tales of Passion&Power in the Palaces of Europe

Royal Pains
A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds

Notorious Royal Marriages
A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty...

Royal Affairs
A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That...

Herself

Spin Doctor

Play Dates

Temporary Insanity

Reality Check

Miss Match

Leslie Carroll's Bio

Leslie Carroll was born and raised in New York City. A professional actress as well as a novelist, over the years she has also worked in politics, advertising, public relations, law, and journalism. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University.

Although she always amused herself on long car trips by making up stories in her head and populating them with imaginary friends, Leslie's writing career gathered steam in 1998, when, during a long car trip, she proclaimed that she would like to be paid to write. What followed was the impetus for a career as a novelist as well as a return to the world of journalism: a stint as an Associate Editor at Back Stage, New York's leading trade paper for the Theatre professional, where Leslie wrote and edited industry news and features.

On stage, Leslie has played classical and contemporary virgins, vixens, and villainesses in New York and in regional theatre. She has appeared in commercials, voice- overs and talking books, and daytime dramas. Under the auspices of Survivor Productions, a not-for-profit professional theatre company that she founded in 1989, Leslie produced several seasons of "neglected" plays of the 19th century. She is also the author of three stage adaptations of 19th century/early 20th century English novels: Ivanhoe, The Prisoner of Zenda, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Additionally, Leslie is the dramatist of The Diaries of Adam and Eve, based upon the humorous writing of Mark Twain, and the author of The Anglophile's Guide to Afternoon Tea in New York, cheerfully co-researched by close tea-sipping, scone- munching friends. Leslie considers herself more or less "the ultimate anglophile," with a particular penchant for Bath. Her occasional wanderlust has led her to other favorite (and wildly romantic) locales such as Venice and New Orleans.

Surrounded by hundreds of books, her own needlework, family mementos, and a plethora of pre-Raphaelite prints, Leslie lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side in a rambling pre-war apartment once shared with her grandmother. "Three generations of my family have lived here over the years. I jokingly refer to it as 'Tara.' "

She is a member of the Dramatists' Guild and both the national and New York chapters of Romance Writers of America.