60 Years of Romance from Harlequin

Harlequin is 60! WoW! They have been providing us with hours upon hours of reading goodness for that long? They hardly look a day over 50! HEHE!! To celebrate, they are offering up free books at their website -

http://www.eharlequin.com/store.html?cid=1316&cmpid=BLSOC200901290002

I am going to share with you all some of the email I got from my friend Jayne at Harlequin:

We’re launching our HarlequinCelebrates site on Thursday, but we have a special Anniversary hub on eHarlequin.com with updates on our many celebratory activities and events throughout the year and I’m happy to give you a sneak peek. Any woman can access these wonderful stories from anywhere in the world provided they have a computer connection and an appetite for engaging, compelling stories. From Moncton to Memphis and beyond we’re celebrating the love of the romance novel.

And we hope you will help romance novels become the viral story of 2009!

This is the link for our special 60th Hub on eHarlequin.com: http://www.eharlequin.com/store.html?cid=1316&cmpid=BLSOC200901290002

Celebrating 60 years of pure reading pleasure

Ø 60 years

Ø 5.8 billion books sold

Ø 2,700 authors

Ø 34,000 titles

Ø 640 bestseller placements

Ø 1 Publisher

Ø HARLEQUIN

To thank our many readers for taking us into your hearts and homes for 60 years and making us the world’s leading publisher of romantic fiction, Harlequin is giving every woman in America a free book.

In fact, we’re giving away 16 free Books that your readers can download by using the following URL:

http://www.eharlequin.com/store.html?cid=1316&cmpid=BLSOC200901290002

Let me list the free books:

Harlequin American Romance, Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren

Harlequin Blaze, Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly

Harlequin Historical, His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls

Harlequin Intrigue, Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels

Harlequin Presents, Price of Passion by Susan Napier

Harlequin Romance, The Bride’s Baby by Liz Fielding

Harlequin Superromance, Snowbound by Janice Kay Johnson

Silhouette Desire, Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child

Silhouette Nocturne, Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf

Silhouette Romantic Suspense, Stranded with a Spy by Merline Lovelace

Silhouette Special Edition, Dancing in the Moonlight by Raeanne Thayne

Love Inspired, A Very Special Delivery by Linda Goodnight

Love Inspired Historical, Homespun Bride by Jillian Hart

Love Inspired Suspense, Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry

Kimani Romance, Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson

Nascar, Speed Dating by Nancy Warren

You have to admit that is one compelling line up of great books! You can download the books as a PDF or as an eBook. Moreover, in a couple of weeks you will be able to download a version for your iPhone from Stanza.We have lots more celebrating planned throughout the year for our 60th anniversary including:

Ø The Harlequin Famous Firsts Collection – In March, June and September, look for reissues of some of the very first series books written by current New York Times bestselling writers

Ø The Heart of a Woman: Harlequin Cover Art 1949-2009 – We’re sponsoring and exhibition of original cover art at the Openhouse Gallery, May 29 to June 12 in New York City.

Ø Series Spotlight – Every month a different series is in the spotlight. Look for diamond-themed miniseries, series stars and more from all the Harlequin and Silhouette lines.

Little did Richard and Mary Bonnycastle know what they were starting 60 years ago when they founded Harlequin, but we’ve been satisfying women’s desire for romance, speaking to their hearts and transporting them beyond themselves ever since.We hope to spread this joy of reading far and wide – please feel free to contact me if you would like further information.

Happy Reading!

Jayne Hoogenberk

Manager, eHarlequin.com Community

Thanks Jayne, for all the wonderful news!! I know I am headed to the website now!!

Thia

GUEST BLOGGER Beverly Jenkins

I should probably introduce myself. My name is Beverly Jenkins. My first published novel, Night Song was an historical published by Avon in 1994 and I’ve been an Avon writer ever since. I have 22 titles under my belt and have written not only historicals but romantic suspense and Young Adult as well. Bring on the Blessings due out at the end of the month is my women’s fiction debut. The engine of the story is wealthy middle aged woman named Bernadine Brown. She catches her husband cheating, and when she wins a multi – million dollar divorce settlement she buys a tiny town in northwest Kansas called Henry Adams. One of the reasons for her purchase is to preserve the town’s history. Henry Adams is one of the last surviving all Black townships founded in Kansas after the Civil War. Another reason is to provide a home for a group of foster kids needing a shot at a normal life.

The town of Henry Adams is familiar to my readers because I’ve used this town before as the setting for two of my historicals; Night Song and Something Like Love. Both stories take place in the 1880s. Night Song features a feisty schoolteacher named Cara Lee Henson who falls in love with drop dead gorgeous, Buffalo Soldier Sgt. Chase Jefferson. Something Like Love is about town mayor Olivia Sterling and the love she finds in the arms of an outlaw named Neil July, eldest brother of the train robbing, bank robbing July family. (Baby sister Teresa July, also an outlaw has her own book – Wild Sweet Love. )

In Bring on the Blessings we look in on 21st century Henry Adams and the descendants of the Jeffersons and Julys. The story has many arcs: romance, suspense, humor, hope, and the foster kids provide their own YA arc. Bernadine and her millions bring many blessings to the near destitute town. For me, weaving all the story lines together into a cohesive whole was hard work but it was great fun and being able to spread my writing wings a bit made it even more special.
Historicals continue to be my first love and Avon will publish Captured my pirate tale in the fall. In the meantime, I hope you’ll pick up Bring on the Blessings, on sale everywhere January 27th , and then give some thought to what you would do if you were suddenly given Bernadine’s millions. Thanks for having me. B

GUEST BLOGGER: Julie Hyzy

Last night my husband and I took a drive up to Chicago ’s Gold Coast to engage in one of my favorite guilty pleasures: looking into the living rooms of the uber-rich families who occupy the old mansions. We take this short detour once every couple of years, usually around the holidays when the tall houses are decorated and bustling with activity. From our vantage point in the car, we don’t see a lot, but we do get an idea of the bright spaciousness of the homes. And with an occasional glimpse of a chandelier, or tuxedoed butler, we get a sense of who lives there.

I think this is why I enjoy writing books about the White House so much. To me, the White House is the ultimate mansion. And it provides an irresistible temptation to peer inside. We all know there are tours of the president’s home, but what we really want to know is what goes on when the tours are over—how the family lives day-to-day. I want to be there as the First Family interacts with the staff. I want to experience the last-minute panic before a State Dinner, and I’d love to watch as such an intricate event is orchestrated. I especially want to know what happens when things go wrong.

Since I can’t actually sneak peeks inside, I create stories to satisfy these cravings. Researching the White House has been more fun than I ever imagined. What I like best is discovering bits of unexpected trivia I can incorporate into Ollie’s adventures. In speaking with Walter Scheib, (former White House Executive Chef), for instance, I found out several nuggets I was able to include in the second book, HAIL TO THE CHEF. Who knew that the basement-mezzanine level was affectionately referred to as “The B.M. Level”? I don’t think you’ll find that in too many other books. I love learning these hidden details. And the best part is the fact that the White House is not only a seat of our nation’s history, it’s a living house, so changes occur every day. Keeping up with the news, and keeping in touch with people in the know, helps me to keep Ollie’s stories fresh.

As of this writing, interest is high regarding the position of executive chef under the Obama administration. Foodies across the nation are speculating as to who will be named to the position. Personally, I hope the Obama family retains the current executive chef, Cristeta Comerford. Appointed by Laura Bush, Cristeta is the first female in history to claim that position. Not only is she talented and well-respected, she’s as close to my character, Ollie, as any White House chef ever has been. Of course, I’ll bet Cristeta doesn’t run around whacking assassins in the head with frying pans. At least not too often….

Which brings me to the next book—Number Three in the series has been turned in. In this book Ollie continues to report to fictional President Campbell and his wife. But in Book Number Four, I think it will be fun to take Ollie through a transition. Will a new administration find her as charming and capable as the Campbells do? I imagine it will be fun to find out what a new president thinks of his adventuresome chef and I can’t wait to peek into their lives to find out.

GUEST BLOGGER: Kathryn Shay

Happy New Year, Romance Readers.

What fun it is to introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me and to share my current release with you. I’m Kathryn Shay and I write for Harlequin Superromance and The Berkley Publishing Group. I have 23 Supers and ten Berkley Sensations published; there are over four million copies of my books in print. I write contemporary romance, sometimes with a bit of suspense thrown in. I deal mostly with everyday characters like firefighters, cops, teachers and construction workers, but once and a while I have a TV chef, a senator or a secret service agent as the hero or heroine. I like to explore social issues and I’m told my books are highly emotional, often tearjerkers, and have hints of humor.

A MAN SHE COULDN’T FORGET, out in a few weeks from Superromance, deals with the traditional theme of amnesia, but I think I put a new spin on this idea. There are so many elements involved in this plot—a best friends turned lover angle, a love triangle and of course, a woman who can’t remember anything about her past. Both the hero and heroine are writers—he writes children’s books and she writes cookbooks, as well as having a TV cooking show. (I used many of my family recipes in the book, which are on my website now.) And there are best friends and a sister who have a real stake in what happens next.

I love the three main characters, but they all have flaws. The heroine, Clare, has changed over the last few years and her best friends don’t like her new love interest, especially, Brady, the hero. In turn, he’s angry and impatient, and feels a bit of guilt about what happened to her. (I won’t tell you why.) And Jonathan, the other man, loves Clare deeply but he’s resentful of her other life, of her other friends and of the fact that he can’t get her to commit to him fully.

And then there’s the mystery—what actually did happen that night Clare lost her memory and why doesn’t either man want the heroine to remember everything?

I think that’s enough to whet your appetite and get a dialogue going. Please feel free to ask anything about me, my career, and the book itself. I’ll be back several times to check in.

Kathy