Author Kimberly Hope writes contemporary romances full of sass with sexy heroes and heroines who can hold their own. I love the way her stories draw everything out of a character and it’s so much fun watching the exchange as the pair struggles over and through obstacles to a satisfying happy ending.

I’ve been fortunate enough to read more than one of Kimberly Hope’s books, though only one is currently on the market. (and only 99cents!) The Heiress and Her Fake Fiancee is the first in the absolutely delightful Heiress at the Door series.

Here’s a little peek inside:

“It’ll go away,” she muttered. Her body hadn’t gotten the memo saying she was over him. With so little sleep, her body and her hormones were working on autopilot. Tomorrow everything would get back to normal.

“Now, come on, you two, work with me. This isn’t a root canal. Matt, put your arm around the girl. You’re supposed to be in love.”

“What? We’re not –,” The words died in Jessica’s throat when Matt touched her.

He slipped his arm around her waist, and pulled her close, so they stood hip to hip.

“You mean like this?”

Fire ran up her side and she wanted to cry. Why didn’t Bill cause sensations like these?

“Or was this more what you had in mind, Vi?”

Jessica stopped thinking the minute he turned her so they were facing. He winked as he slowly pulled her closer, until she was pressed firmly against his hard body. Her hands reached for his shoulders, almost of their own volition.

Matt lowered her in a dip and their eyes met. Her laughter died in her throat. Eyes that had held humorous sparks just a moment before now darkened to near-black with an awareness she’d never seen. Anticipation licked up her spine but Jessica opened her mouth to protest.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Kiss her, for goodness sake.”

He whispered an oath as he lowered his head.

If you’re in the mood for a delectable contemporary romance sure to leave you smiling, pick up The Heiress & Her Fake Fiancee today!

Her official bio: Kimberly Hope knew from the time she was 12 she was destined to write romance novels. With a name like that, what else would she be? The only question was, what direction that trip would take.

Kimberly found her forte in smart, sexy, sassy, contemporary romances with guaranteed smiles and happily-ever-afters for today’s contemporary reader. Her heroines are feisty and give as good as they get; her heroes are sexy, successful men you’d want to keep for yourself.

Find The Heiress & Her Fake Fiancee on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, & Super E-Books

Visit her website: http://www.kimberlyhopebooks.com/

Follow her on twitter @KimberlyHopebks and go like her fan page on Facebook too!

Live the adventure!

I’m so pleased to have Tanya Michaels here today! She’s the author of more than 40 short stories, books, novellas and published essays.  A popular event speaker (on topics like world building among others) she’s also been nominated for dozens of awards, winning the Published Maggie Award of Excellence, the Booksellers’ Best Bet (two years in a row), the CataRomance Readers’ Choice, and the Sandra Anglain Chastain Service Award. She is also a three-time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award.

Now, as promised, Heeeere’s Tanya!

With The Best Man in Texas and the upcoming Texas Baby (Harlequin American, Sept. 2010) I got to do one of my favorite things as a writer—revisit a world I’d already created.  It’s like going to see old friends!  I don’t know why it took me so long in my career to start writing connected books because, as a reader, I’ve always enjoyed series.

Fantasy series in particular offer amazing instances of world-building, whether it’s Tolkien’s Middle Earth, C.S. Lewis’ Narnia, George R.R. Martin’s Westeros, or Jacqueline Carey’s Terre D’Ange.  But I’ve also seen amazing world-building in standalone books set in the “every day” world.  Jennifer Crusie’s contemporary romance Bet Me comes to mind.  Her location was no more exotic than Ohio, but she definitely sucked me into that world—I totally wanted to have drinks with the characters at The Long Shot bar and eat chicken marsala at Emilio’s.

To me, reading that book felt very interactive.  A fictional world should never be just a green-screen, the landscaped props behind your characters; it should feel three dimensional.  It should contain a society (which can be as small a microcosm as a family of four or a few co-workers in a dysfunctional office).  And there are certain building-blocks that all societies have shared, from bygone historical days to the present.  Many of these same building blocks appear in most of the sci-fi/futuristic fiction I enjoy, too—whether it’s books, movies or shows.

While I don’t think stories should be written as fill-in-the-blank templates, here are a just a couple of elements to keep in mind if you want to build a world (taken from my workshop World-Building for Your Werewolf, Duke, or Small Town Doctor).  What’s the political structure?  Is it matriarchal?  Militaristic?  Groupthink?  (In the show “House,” I think you could argue that the political structure is tyranny.)

What do the people there value?  Gold, information, a damn good chicken marsala?  A believable world needs both moral values and material values, although material doesn’t always mean money. (“He who controls the spice controls the universe.”)  What the people value can not only make your world more distinctive, it can help drive the plot.

What if the thing they value the most is jeopardized, or the story takes them on a quest that makes them re-examine their values?  In Kresley Cole’s hot paranormal romance Kiss of A Demon King, the heroine was a vegetarian and the hero was a self-confessed carnivore.  While that was by no means the main conflict of the book, it was just one more supporting parallel of the differences between them, how the way of life one of them held dear was initially reviled by the other.  They both had a lot of adjusting to do before they earned their happily ever after.

In my upcoming Texas Baby, most of the hierarchy from the book comes from the office where both the hero and heroine work and the thing most valued to both of them is family.  Societies also have common language, whether it’s a dialect spoken (Elvish, Klingon) or simply regional slang or a catchphrase used between friends.  And all societies have their own stories and legends, whether they’re religious parables sacred and kept by worship leaders or simply a familiar anecdote told every year around the Thanksgiving table.

And thank God for those stories!  I love discovering new stories and new writers just as much as I love telling stories and creating new characters.  My hope is that I write characters other readers will want to spend time with and worlds that they will recognize and want to revisit.

~ Tanya

Two of my favorite authors will be appearing here in just a few days. Monica Burns arrives on September 2nd with a fabulous post about the marketing elements of  paranormal novels (and novels in general). 

I’m tickled to be one of the stops on Monica’s blog tour for her September paranormal romance novel release, Assassin’s Heart!

Plus  Monica and Berkley Sensation are giving away a copy of the book to one lucky blog reader who leaves a comment on 9/2!!!

Then Tanya Michaels joins the fun here on September 7th with tips from her wonderful world building workshop, “World-Building for your Werewolf, Duke, or Small-Town Doctor”.

For romance writers (or others) looking to improve their world-building skills, you’ll appreciate the advice and insight Tanya has to share.

And there’s great news for readers too: Tanya’s September release of Texas Baby marks a return to the world she built for The Best Man in Texas.

Both of these talented authors are inspired, informative, and fun. Personally, I enjoy their books for the delightful stories and adventures as well as the clever and three dimensional worlds they’ve built for their characters and their readers. If you haven’t read any of their work yet, get busy! You won’t be disappointed! Buy books by Monica or Tanya at your favorite book retailer.

Live the adventure!

And just to add to your calendar notations, E.J. Stevens is hosting me at From the Shadows on September 9th, so be sure to drop by and comment – we’re giving away a copy of Veil of Justice!

Romance author Tanya Michaels, who also writes as Tanya Michna, gives classes on world building. If you’re a paranormal romance writer, or writer of any genre and you have a chance to hear her speak – GO! No, she doesn’t specifically write paranormal romance novels, but I’ll say it again: it’s best to learn from the best, wherever they may be.

This just in: Tanya will be HERE! on September 7th! With a wonderful post about world building – you won’t want to miss it!

For me, as a fan of Michaels’ books, her story worlds come alive in the clever choice of details. For The Best Man in Texas, I’ll point to the drive from Katy to Houston. Odd choice? Maybe. (I’ve never claimed to be normal) This moment is certainly a ‘small’ part of the scene and comes after many other wonderful layers of characterization and world building for the romance novel as a whole.

But with one simple line, she puts you in the scene with her characters, feeling the traffic, traveling the route, and completely engaged with the heroine on the way to the party. (no the scene isn’t about the car, traffic or route – it’s about the characters).

Michaels creates unique characters and detailed world building for her romance novels that is hard to describe, but a pure joy to read. Her transitions between setting and action are seamless, but add vivid depth and tenderness to her stories. This world building blend of emotion, humor, plot, and setting is something I believe has turned many readers to lifelong fans of her work.

Whenever I read Michaels’ books I feel as if I’ve visited the town, walked into that kitchen, or seen the fire station (The Best Man in Texas). That’s a fabulous way for readers to escape and engage with the characters and story.

Such successful world building for romance novels isn’t an easy skill, no matter how effortless Michaels makes it look. As I’ve said before, if you want to learn from the best, buy Tanya Michaels’ books and get yourself to wherever she’s speaking! (her next release is Texas Baby due September 14!)

Live the adventure!

…and mark your calendars for September 7th, when Tanya Michaels will be here!

Especially if you happen to be the proud owner of an author who likes to work at home.

I’m Boo! They named me that because my ears bounce like the ponytails on a Disney movie character. Whatever. I always know when they’re talking to me anyway.

My momma the author says I help her keep the estrogen levels up around here. She works at home, in front of a variety of things she says I can’t lick that she calls keyboards.

Her fingers move fast and there’s much clicking, but when she pauses, that’s when I come closer for some loves. See, rubbing my soft ears helps her think. It’s great when she decides to work beside me while I nap on the couch.

Lately we’ve had more sun and that’s when mommy takes one of her keyboards outside to click and think while I explore the yard.  Or nap on the grass under the warm sunshine. She says these are the best days, before it gets humid – whatever that means.

Owning an author is fun. Mine lounges in her jammies some days while I take the couch. But there are moment’s I will call interesting. Sometimes my author gets distracted and the clicking goes on and on even though it’s snack time or dinner time.

There are days when author ownership is challenging. Especially on the days when the clicking is very slow.

That’s when my author does other stuff instead of petting me. She mutters about tidiness and zoo habitats while she dusts or mops or cooks. I don’t mind the dusting or mop thing, and the cooking is bonus!

But I don’t like the noisy vacuum thing. Isn’t there some other way to suck up the stuff she doesn’t want on the floor? I try to help my snuffling up crumbs, but while dust bunnies are fun to blow on, I leave the hair balls for the cats.

As Mom says: Live the adventure!

On the days when I play in the real world, rather than my paranormal romance world, people often ask me (as they do most authors) “Why do you write?” “How do you do it?” or even “When did you know you were a writer?” My quick answer is always, “I write because I can’t paint”. I know that sounds sarcastic, but it’s a real answer. Sincere even.

Really, it is. I write paranormal romance books because I can’t paint, draw or sculpt. I think those visual artistic achievements are lovely and idyllic, because from my naive, outsider perspective it seems like those artists have it easy.

They paint what they see or sculpt what they feel and they’re done. Ta-da. They have a finished product to show the world. Writers of any genre are artists too, but at the end of the day, whether we pen paranormal romance novels or legal thrillers we’re not very close to the ‘ta-da’ part of the program.

I’m not so naive about artistry these days that I don’t realize how the painting and sculpture take just as much creative energy out of the artist as all the hours I put into the alpha females of my short stories and paranormal romance books.

But at the end of the project, no matter how quirky or beautiful the alpha female, my ‘ta-da’ moment as a paranormal romance writer resembles a doorstop more than art. Hmmm. Maybe I should start putting a bow on my completed manuscripts. I certainly can’t put bows in the hair of most of my alpha female heroines (at least not very often).

So I frequently remind myself about the fun of making stuff up for my paranormal romance novels. It’s a privilege to go adventuring with my alpha female imaginary friends. They become as much a part of me as my family is while we’re in the story together.

Because as much as the grass looks greener on a Monet landscape, I paint the scenes of my short stories and paranormal romance books with words – and it’s been that way for as long as I can remember.

Live the adventure,