I’ve realized for a while now that the ending of most Romance novels doesn’t much interest me. In fact, those last few pages and paragraphs are so often a disappointment to me, an anti-climax of bassinets and baby talk and blissful proclamations of undying love that I am tempted to stop reading once I know that the couple have resolved their major issues and realize that they are IN LOVE and meant to be together just to avoid that let down when the book ending doesn’t match the intensity of the couple’s emotional commitment.

Authors wanting to be a part of the 52 Books in 2008 / Advertising with Alison program, check out the rules and the calendar for availability at this link. There are still open weekends throughout the last half of the year.

I’ll be drawing the winners of the THE ONE I WANT review copies on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.ish CDT. Don’t think you have to write a formal review. Just a reader review with your thoughts on the book is all the matters.

RTB is giving away a set of A&E’s Romance Collection DVD’s. You have to enter by next Saturday morning, so check it out.

Shiloh Walker is auctioning off a basket of books with the proceeds going to SAVE THE CHILDREN to help with the Myanmar catastrophe.

On the good news for me front, I finished my KISS & TELL rewrites on Friday, YAY, and heard that Simon Baptiste’s book from Brava has been moved up to 05/09, YAY!

Be sure and visit RomancingTheBlog for a chance to win A&E’s Romance Collection of DVD Classics. Do read the rules! Also check back here on Monday for fun and games and a chance at a super prize!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers out there! We celebrated on Saturday just because Sunday is always such a crush. Early afternoon dinner with the husband and I, #2 daughter and J, #1 daughter, the son, the d-i-l, and Sam. Great fun and food and family times!

Watch the sparks fly when Carly’s compatibility results are truly put to the test!

Post a comment here if you’d like to be entered to win a copy of PUTTING IT TO THE TEST from Lori Borrill. Winner will be drawn, Sunday night, May 11, 2008, at 8:00 p.m.ish CDT. (Authors interested in having their books advertised, click here.)

Lucky for Chloe Flynt, everyone knows it’s easier to get out of a bad relationship than it is to get in one. But when it comes to hot, steamy, long-lasting passion, even Chloe is at a loss—until this British playgirl comes face to face with a true-blue Texas cowboy who tempts her to toss away her commitment-phobic habits once and for all to join him for a walk down the aisle…

Falling in love is much harder than breaking up…

With three broken engagements under her oh so fashionable belt, it’s high time London party girl Chloe Flynt gets a job. Unfortunately, Chloe isn’t exactly qualified for anything, except dumping a Mr. Wrong or two (or three!) with a little dignity. Realizing she needs a new beginning, she lands in Austin, Texas, and opens a company helping other people do the dirty work of breaking up…

Too bad Chloe’s tall, tough-talking, and take-charge landlord, Matthew Tanner, isn’t interested in her expertise. Because anyone can see that his girlfriend is clearly all wrong for him. Not that Chloe cares. She and Matthew have nothing in common—other than that mind-blowing attraction, that is. But when his girlfriend requests Chloe’s services, all hell breaks loose. If there’s one thing Chloe knows for sure, it’s that just because she’s good at breaking up bad relationships doesn’t mean she has a talent for putting together good ones. Maybe it’s finally time she gives it a try…

Nancy was so good to visit here yesterday, and today I’m going to give away two REVIEW copies of her current Brava release, THE ONE I WANT. You can read an excerpt here.

By entering to win, you agreed to do a review of the book by mid-June. One winner’s review will be posted here, and one winner’s review will be posted on her blog, i.e., I’m picking one blogger reader, and one non-blogger reader to win.

If you agree to all of the above and would like to read and review Nancy’s book, post in the comments, and if you have a blog, please leave your URL. I’ll pick a winner next Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.ish CDT.

She’s got such a natural quality to her and I always believe totally that the person she portrays is real. Well, sadly, she’s given up acting (at least for now) but she’s turned her talent to writing both adult and young adult novels. She was part of a panel of YA writers, with K.C. Dyer and James McCann I went to.

Talk turned to acting and how it relates to writing and Meg talked about the clench you get in your gut when something is authentic, when you are so deep in your character that you become them and know immediately when what they are saying or doing is right. She says it’s the same sensation whether she’s writing or acting. How cool that the same creative instincts are at work.

I also have a painter friend who talks about his ‘voice’ in painting. We talk about voice all the time as writers, but I had never thought of a painter as having a voice, but when I think about it the idea grows on me. Voice is so difficult to describe, but I think we know it when we hear it (or see it!)

Every good writer has a voice that is as unique as her speaking tone. It comes out in how we choose words, structure sentences, our turns of phrase and I think in the way we perceive and record life. A really strong, unique voice is easily recognizable. If someone read you a passage out of context, could you pick out Tim Robbins? Tess Gerritson? Jenny Crusie? Stephen King? Jane Austen?

Alison and I write similar books — we’re both published by Blaze and Brava — and yet our voices are totally different. That’s what I love about writing and writers. I am awed by the way Alison describes raw emotion and she writes fabulous action heroes who are both flawed and yet still sensitive. I’m not good at either of those things. I always go for the light and humorous. It’s part of my voice just as Alison’s choices are part of hers.

Of course, each character within a book also has their own voice, and that’s another circle of hell you navigate when you’re creating a novel. With The One I Want, I cheated a bit. Chloe is a London party girl with the accompanying accent and attitude. I pictured Victoria Beckham aka Posh Spice as I was writing her, while Matthew Tanner was a long, lean Texan with a long, lean, Texan accent. Once I ‘heard’ their voices, their characters really came clear to me.

If you’re a writer interested in advice from a romance author, I’d suggest you write in a way that feels natural to you without worrying too much about ‘the rules’. Those rules and people who spout them tend to get in the way of your natural voice, and trust me when I tell you it’s the greatest thing you’ve got going for you. If you’re an avid reader, try paying attention next time you’re really enjoying a book to the voice telling you this story in this particular way.

Have you read a book or an author recently whose voice really spoke to you?

Alison here. I’ll be doing a giveaway of Nancy’s book THE ONE THAT I WANT tomorrow for review - two copies - one to be reviewed on my blog, one to be reviewed on the winner’s blog - so be sure and check back Friday!

Also, check out Devon’s column today at Access Romance’s Readers Gab where she says:

I’ve been reading a lot of different kinds of romance lately, trying to switch it up, stave off reading boredom. No matter the subgenre, length, or heat level, I’m finding that the disappointing books have one thing in common: the lack of intensity. By this I mean a sense of urgency, that feeling that these two people need to be together.

Look what came in yesterday’s mail! A Slovak Edition of DEEP BREATH in hardcover, whoo-hoo! I feel like I have a real thriller suspense cover there!

But the minute I said yes, reality hit. This was Alison Kent’s blog. What the heck do I have to say that could do justice to a veteran romance author? I’m new to the business and don’t follow the industry much. Though I’m trying to get with the program, I’m very much head-in-the-sand and only pick up on a topic after it’s been discussed to death. And when it comes to craft, I’m very much a what-works-for-you-is-right type of person.

What kind of witty, intriguing and though provoking subject could I speak with any authority on? Heck, I don’t even have a cute grandchild to showcase, and my own son is at the gawky 12-year-old stage.

So I decided rather than embarrass myself by trying to rise to the occasion, I’d just reduce this blog down to my level of expertise and talk about TV.

Up until this last year, I was a TV junkie. I spent decades watching the ABC soaps. Even lost 15 lbs one time by forcing myself to only watch All My Children while on my Nordic Trac (I’m dating myself here!). I then jumped on the reality TV bandwagon, having watched the first 5 seasons of Survivor and American Idol. I never missed CSI or Antiques Roadshow. Fox screwed me over a couple times by canceling my favorites such as John Doe and Freaky Links. And when there was nothing else on, I filled the hours with HGTV and Food Network.

But something happened to me over these last couple years. I don’t know if my life has gotten too busy, or if it’s the enjoyment I’m getting from reading, which I’m trying to do more of. I just don’t have the attention span for TV anymore.

Two years ago, I realized I couldn’t stomach another Survivor. Not to insult anyone who’s still watching. I’d just burned myself out on it, probably because I’d thrown in Temptation Island and a couple others which ultimately pushed me over the edge on all of it. And this year was the first year we didn’t watch a solitary episode of American Idol. I’m fried on it. After years watching it three nights a week, even Simon doesn’t entertain me anymore.

I’m still an HGTV junkie, but honestly, one can only watch so many episodes of House Hunters and Designed to Sell. And when it comes to Food Network, I’m one Challenge from flipping the channel there, too. I’m only clinging to Ace of Cakes at this point, because I love Doff and the network hasn’t saturated the market with him–yet.

The one thing I did get into this year was the HBO series, John Adams. It was so well done I got sucked in and never missed an episode. Which tells me that maybe it isn’t just me. Maybe it’s that I’m tired of the same old thing. It annoys me that the entertainment industry can’t seem to come up with an original idea to save its life. Do one good reality TV show, and next season you’ll find every network pushing three. Hell, even Food Network and HGTV have come up with “find the next star” rip-offs of American Idol. Produce a good home improvement show, and they’ll pump it up to five episodes a week. It gets old, and I turn to my books. Which isn’t a bad thing, but the farther I gravitate from TV, the more I feel out of the loop.

I’ve stopped by a number of blogs where people start talking about TV and I feel like I’ve been on an island for the last five years. And speaking of which, I think I’m the only person on the planet who doesn’t watch Lost. As a contemporary romance author, I fear I’m shorting my craft by never having watched an episode of Sex and the City. And when it comes to the new series out this year, I couldn’t even name the titles.

So I’m curious. Is it just me? Are there any series you’re burning out on after having been a loyal fan year after year? And when it comes to the new shows out there, what am I missing out on? Anything new you make a point of tuning in to every week?

One thing about all these videos is that the quality is NOT the best. Kinda blurry, kinda fuzzy, kinda grainy at times. The reason for that is compression. Loading big files into YouTube makes them manageable — unlike three videos on author blogs I tried to watch this morning and couldn’t. They were HUGE files. A couple of them were hosted at places similar to YouTube that offer better quality with their compression, but guess what? They were so large, that even with cable internet, I didn’t have the patience to sit and watch them. They were jerky. They timed out. Me and my cable internet finally gave up. Think about viewers with dial-up service. They would be waiting hours for these files to play.

PLEASE consider the size of your files and the connectivity of your viewers. I really wanted to watch the three I ran across this morning, but I didn’t have time. I only let myself do a small amount of blog hopping with my coffee, and if I’d waited for those files to play, my coffee would’ve been long gone and I wouldn’t have had time to read anything else!

When I hear the phrase “No offense but…” I know that something offensive is about to come out of the speaker’s mouth. The phrase is one of those passive-aggressive mechanisms that most people use in order to air their opinions while instantly putting their listeners or subjects on the defensive.

No offense, but that stuff is just trash.

A total stranger said this to me last week on the bus. I was reading Sunshine and Shadow by Sharon and Tom Curtis. I’m not even sure how she could tell what I was reading or to which genre it belonged, since the cover is fairly worn and was angled propped on the back of the seat in front of me.

Read the rest of JMC’s post at Access Romance’s Readers Gab.

Several weeks ago I gave away two copies of Dianne Castell’s HOT AND BOTHERED for review. I posted Barbara-Jo’s earlier - thank you Barbara-Jo! - and you can read Jillyan’s at this link - thank you Jillyan! I need to come up with another book to give away for review.

Any new release suggestions? I’ll give away one copy to a reader to review on my blog, and one for a reader to review on her blog. Sing out with ideas, and whether or not you have a blog. I’ll figure out what I’m doing and post back - and it’s probably a good idea to post if you want to be in the running since more than likely I’ll just choose something from the pool of comments left here! And watch for a fun guest post tomorrow!

The winner of the Book Wish is: Debbie Andrews.

The winner of THE WOLF’S HEART is: Nicole Price.