On 12 February (the day after the Australian Romance Readers Awards), at 11.00 am on Pyrmont Bridge, Sydney, we are inviting readers and authors to participate in a flash mob romance reading event for one hour—the first of its kind. What do you need to do? Just turn up with a romance and read it—it’s that simple!

Join us for this historic event—you get to:

•  read!
• share your love of reading, and of romance fiction
• engage with a reading community
• meet authors
• promote literacy
• create a positive atmosphere for reading romance.

The romance reading hour will be followed by an optional lunch in Pyrmont, at a venue to be announced. All participants are welcome to join us for lunch.

If you won’t be in Sydney on 12 February, we are also encouraging authors and readers to organise their own RRD event locally.

This is truly a unique occasion—it has never been done before, so please bring your book and join us in creating something special.

Please contact us at arra.specialevents@gmail.com if you are interested in participating, or connect with us on Twitter (@ARRAinc) or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1014838783).

The Trader’s Wife by Anna Jacobs

The Trader’s Wife is the first book in Anna’s new series, The Traders, set in the Orient and the Swan River Colony in the 1860s. The story begins with Isabella Saunders trying to find employment in Singapore after her parents have died and she is left with no family to help. After a number of disappointments in her job hunt and being evicted from her rented room she agrees to take on a position with the Lee family. She agrees to teach them English to assist them in their trading business in exchange for a wage and accommodation. Over time she becomes part of the family but she can’t stop thinking about her cousin who ran off with a man who then didn’t marry her. The cousin has disappeared but Isabella worries for her and needs to know she is okay as she is the only family she has left.

When Bram Deagan ventures to Singapore from the Swan River Colony to look into the opportunities available for him to find trading goods, he rescues Isabella from a street attack and is introduced to the Lees. Together with his friend, Captain Dougal McBride, Bram spends time with the Lees and Isabella who accept them as good men. Mr Lee asks them to be partners in his trading business and tells Bram he should marry Isabella so she can go to the Swan River Colony to find her cousin and help him in his business. Isabella and Bram agree to this proposal and they marry just before they sail.

When they arrive in Fremantle, Bram introduces Isabella to his friends (some of the characters from Anna’s Swan River Saga, which is an added bonus for readers) and soon finds a building for their bazaar and a home for them. As they work to prepare their business for opening, Isabella’s cousin comes to the colony, a penniless widow with a small child and moves in with them. This causes some tension in the household as the cousin appears unable to want to do anything and Isabella finds out she’s pregnant. The Deagans’ life becomes more complicated as they take on workers and some old enemies come back to cause trouble.

This story has something happening on every page, which keeps you turning them looking to see what happens next. Bram and Isabella are great characters and the ensemble of secondary characters flow easily with some quite complicated plots flowing well around the central story. This also gives the reader a number of questions and certainly left me wondering when Ms Jacobs will release her next book so I can go back and visit these people again to see what they have been up to.

reviewed by Tracey T

A review copy of this book was provided by the author. All ARRA members who leave a comment on this review will go in the draw to win the book.

I thought ‘How hard can it be?’ making the leap from traditional publishing to the self-pubbed route. My friends who’d done it said to be prepared for madness—at least at first. Ok, I laughed. I’ve had stressful jobs in my life. Twenty years as an equine photographer had taught me patience, fortitude, perfection—I’d thought!

It all started last year in August when my New York publisher announced that they were going straight ebook starting with the titles set to come out it September. Everyone was poleaxed. I’d just squeaked under the wire with my second book, Montana Dawn, which launched in August. I breathed a sigh of relief. But, what now? We were working on its sequel, Texas Twilight, due out in May of 2011. Hmmm. After much soul searching and talking with many others in the business, I decided to publish it on my own. The industry was moving so fast—still is. I didn’t want to get left behind.

So I finished the book and had it edited. Then copy edited. Sent it to four beta-readers. All the while a cover artist was busy creating three beautiful covers. Three, you ask? Yes, during the time I was finishing writing Texas Twilight, I also tackled the daunting job of trying to regain the rights to my first two books. It happened after a few months, with great jubilation on my part.

I was not finished yet. After all the editing was complete, it was time to format—which I hired out—and do the up-loading, the promotions. But, along with frustration comes great satisfaction when the job actually gets done. Is this where I thought I’d be when I landed my first publishing contract? No. But how many things in our lives that seem like road bumps turn out to be blessings in disguise? That’s how I’m looking at this.

So, here I am. Beginning a new journey. One that’s scary, exciting and full of new faces, plus more and more of the ones I already know. Up, up and away … to the universe and beyond!

Here’s the back cover blurb to Texas Twilight, the sequel to Montana Dawn. I hope my adventure in Rio Wells, Texas, 1886 will whet your appetite for more western historical romances …

Fresh out of medical school, John McCutcheon finds his stagecoach under attack by brutal outlaws. With the help of a feisty acquaintance, Lily Anthony, he manages to fend off the assault. Lily is attracted to the charming cowboy-doctor, with his chiseled good looks and teasing ways, then heartbroken to learn he’s engaged to be married.

Once settled in Rio Wells, Texas, John tries to ignore the fact that his cousin has taken a shine to Lily. When a bounty hunter shows up looking for a priceless jewel that Lily has found stashed away in her aunt’s belongings, Lily fears her dreams of owning her own shop–and of finding true love—are about to go up in flames … or, could that just be the glow of a beautiful … Texas Twilight?

Have you ever had your plans take a turn into the unknown? What did you do? How did it make you feel? In celebration of Texas Twilight’s launch, I’m giving away a copy of each of my three books, in ebook format. Leave a comment for your chance to win Where the Wind Blows, Montana Dawn or Texas Twilight.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Look for Sourdough Creek coming soon!

Caroline Fyffe grew up in the little town of El Dorado, CA, the youngest of five girls and whose main interest was the family’s horses. An equine photographer for over twenty years now, she has worked throughout the United States and Germany. Long days in the arenas present plenty of opportunity to dream up all sorts of stories. Her love of horses and the Old West is the inspiration behind her books. Her debut book, Where the Wind Blows, was the recipient of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and also the Wisconsin RWA’s Write Touch Readers’ Award. Montana Dawn, Book 1 of the McCutcheon Family Series, was a Maggie Finalist, Gayle Wilson Finalist and winner of a Laurel Wreath. Texas Twilight, Book 2 of the McCutcheon Family Series, is newly published. Watch for Sourdough Creek coming in January of 2012. Married for many years, Caroline’s most cherished achievements are her two grown sons.

You can find Caroline at:

http://www.carolinefyffe.com/
http://www.carolinefyffephoto.com/

Or on Twitter or Facebook.

Write to her at caroline@carolinefyffe.com. She’d love to hear from you!

Explosive Eighteen

When I opened this book and saw that the opening scene had Stephanie Plum coming back from Hawaii my first thought was ‘Oh, COME ON!’. Seriously? We don’t get to read about the holiday? Ripped off!

I only had to read a little further, however, before little clues about the happenings in Hawaii started to emerge. What is that mysterious tan line? Why are Morelli and Ranger both sporting cuts and bruises? Why won’t Stephanie talk about it? The story does eventually emerge throughout the book and it serves to keep both the other characters and readers guessing. Let’s just say it was a holiday as only Stephanie could manage.

Meanwhile Stephanie has picked up another problem on the plane ride home. Or rather someone gave her one. And before she knows it she has FBI agents (both fake and real), a dangerous Somalian national and a strangely persistent hairdresser all following her around trying to find out what she knows. Problem is Stephanie doesn’t have what they want, and of course they don’t believe her.

Other problems are mounting as well. According to Lula it is because Stephanie has lost her juju—no doubt caused by the holiday she won’t speak of—and it certainly seems that nothing is going right for Stephanie on many fronts. I’m not going to go into any details, because there are too many moments I could accidentally spoil for readers. Suffice it to say she manages some new and inventive ways to totally screw up.

Despite my misgivings after Smokin’ Seventeen, I ended up really enjoying this book. Once Stephanie gets her mojo going she surprises us all by dealing with the myriad of problems in a fairly efficient (if slightly illogical) manner. I’m not going to comment on Stephanie’s amorous encounters except to say that at least she’s doing some introspection and does seem to care about how it affects others. Particular highlights in Explosive Eighteen were Lula’s new catchword (I smiled every time she said it), as well as her new firepower; the particularly impressive way Stephanie took care of her Somalian stalker (and the way everyone reacts to it); the love potion subplot; and even the way the story ended, although a bit cliffhanger-ish, still made me smile. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for Nineteen.

reviewed by Debbie P

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All ARRA members who leave a comment on this review will go in the draw to win the book.

Seduce Me

This was a short and ultimately sweet novella, fast paced, with the story moving along nicely, it was a quick and easy read.

I loved the first time we meet Lucas and Faith, it’s a case of mistaken identity, with very amusing results, all at Lucas’s expense. Which to be honest I didn’t really mind as I didn’t like Lucas at first, he was a bit of an idiot. But as the story unfolds, you get to know him better. Holt has managed to write the character of spoilt, self-serving Lucas perfectly. He’s impatient, rude, and expects everyone to be in awe. But it’s not until you get to know him that you realise that is how he wants everyone to see him, that it’s safer to not let anyone in. Because letting someone in, caring about someone, will only end in heartache.

Faith is very much as the blurb says, caring, kind and she doesn’t like to see anyone hurt or taken advantage of. I enjoyed Faith’s scenes with Bryce and Peanut—they showed her caring side. Both she and Lucas have had childhoods that haven’t been the greatest, but it’s only made her more considerate and forgiving. She’s a strong ‘mama bear’ type character, which is one of the things I like about her—but she has one weakness—Lucas Merriweather. But what a weakness to have! There are some hot, hot scenes, but nothing too explicit and I love how Holt builds up the tension between Faith and Lucas and the first time they’re together had me laughing out loud.

As always with stories like this I did get frustrated that the couple doesn’t tell each other the truth, that they allow lies to get between them, especially when Faith and Lucas know what the rest of their families are like—but really, what’s a little romantic angst between friends! It wasn’t until after I’d finished Seduce Me that I realised it was the first in a new series, so I’m hoping we’ll get to revisit Faith and Lucas in their happy ever after. Seduce Me was a very enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours, let’s hope that Holt doesn’t keep us waiting too long for the next instalment.

reviewed by Cathy Q

A review copy of this book was provided by the author.

Winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner on 11 February 2012.

Favourite paranormal romance for 2011 (proudly sponsored by Galaxy Bookshop)

• Big Bad Beast / Shelly Laurenston
• Dragon Bound / Thea Harrison
• Dreams of a Dark Warrior / Kresley Cole
• Fate’s Edge / Ilona Andrews
• Goblin King / Shona Husk
• Kiss of Snow / Nalini Singh
• Lover Unleashed / JR Ward
• Nightfall / Ellen Connor
• The Guardian / Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Three Wishes / Jenny Schwartz

Favourite sci-fi, urban fantasy or futuristic romance for 2011 (proudly sponsored by Carina Press)

• Archangel’s Blade / Nalini Singh
• Archangel’s Consort / Nalini Singh
• Blood Bound / Rachel Vincent
• Blood Cursed / Erica Hayes
• Born of Shadows / Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Death Magic / Eileen Wilks
• Magic Slays / Ilona Andrews
• River Marked / Patricia Briggs
• Shadow Kin / MJ Scott
• Shadowfever / Karen Marie Moning

Favourite short category romance for 2011 (proudly sponsored by Harlequin Enterprises Australia)

• Colorado Cowboy / CC Coburn
• Girl in the Bedouin Tent / Annie West
• Molly Cooper’s Dream Date / Barbara Hannay
• Prince of Scandal / Annie West
• Promoted to Wife? / Paula Roe
• Rapunzel in New York / Nikki Logan
• Sex, Lies and Mistletoe / Tawny Weber
• The Man Behind the Badge / Sharon Archer
• The Man She Loves to Hate / Kelly Hunter
• With This Fling … / Kelly Hunter

Favourite historical romance for 2011 (proudly sponsored by Rosemary’s Romance Books and  Temptation the Romance Bookstore)

• A Little Deception / Beverley Eikli
• Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage / Kieran Kramer
• Heiress in Love / Christina Brooke
• How the Marquess was Won / Julie Anne Long
• Midnight’s Wild Passion / Anna Campbell
• Never Love a Highlander / Maya Banks
• Salt Bride / Lucinda Brant
• The Many Sins of Lord Cameron / Jennifer Ashley
• Unveiled / Courtney Milan
• Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue / Stephanie Laurens

Favourite contemporary romance for 2011 (proudly sponsored by Romantic Reflections)

• A Lot Like Love / Julie James
• Any Man of Mine / Rachel Gibson
• Boomerang Bride / Fiona Lowe
• Claudia’s Big Break / Lisa Heidke
• Cop’s Passion / Angela Verdenius
• North Star / Karly Lane
• One Perfect Night / Rachael Johns
• Promises / Cathyrn Hein
• The Castaway Bride / Kandy Shepherd
• The Next Always / Nora Roberts

Favourite erotic romance for 2011 (proudly sponsored by Romance Direct)

• Agent / Lexxie Couper
• All of You / Rhian Cahill
• Bunny and the Bear / Eve Langlais
• Endless Lust / Lexxie Couper
• Guilty as Sin / Denise Rossetti
• Love, Lust and Lies / Cathleen Ross
• See You In My Dreams / Jess Dee
• The Lone Warrior / Denise Rossetti
• The Surrender of Lacy Morgan / Suzanne Ferrell
• Triple Dare / Lexxie Couper

Favourite romantic suspense for 2011

• Beyond Fear / Jaye Ford
• Breaking Point / Pamela Clare
• Breaking the Rules / Suzanne Brockmann
• Chasing Fire / Nora Roberts
• Deadly Little Lies / Jeanne Adams
• New York to Dallas / JD Robb
• Shattered Sky / Helene Young
• Treachery in Death / JD Robb
• Viper’s Kiss / Shannon Curtis
• With No Remorse / Cindy Gerard

Favourite continuing romance series for 2011

• Gena Showalter / Lords of the Underworld
• Ilona Andrews / Kate Daniels series
• JD Robb / In Death series
• Karen Marie Moning / Fever series
• Kresley Cole / Immortals After Dark
• Nalini Singh / Guild Hunters
• Nalini Singh / Psy/Changeling series
• Rhian Cahill / Coyote Hunger series
• Sherrilyn Kenyon / The League
• Thea Harrison / Elder Races

Favourite Australian romance author of 2011 (proudly sponsored by Booktopia)

• Angela Verdenius
• Anna Campbell
• Annie West
• Christina Brooke
• Helene Young
• Kelly Hunter
• Lexxie Couper
• Nikki Logan
• Paula Roe
• Stephanie Laurens

Awards dinner proudly brought to you by Booktopia

The lead article this month is your very first look at the finalists for the 2011 Australian Romance Readers Awards. Voting will open tomorrow! Watch out for the voting link in your inbox. A huge thank you to Tez Miller for helping out with checking eligibility of nominations.

This month we have information on the Romance Reading Day, author events in February, an article for all our new author members, Kate’s top 10, and a special behind-the-scenes look at Total-E-Bound publishing.

We are also promoting our sponsors for the Awards Dinner this month. Look for their ads for some special offers exclusive to ARRA members. (For those who haven’t registered for the dinner yet, please send in your forms as soon as you can.)

And of course our regular columns: roundup from Tez, plus views, news, author profiles and reviews.

Kudos to our brand new group of proofreaders – ladies you are awesome and the newsletter is better for your input.

Happy New Year everyone, and happy reading!

So, I wonder, is there a point when it’s okay to go against my nature and not forgive someone? This is a subject that I play with in my debut novel, Pieces of Us. My heroine, Charlotte, is betrayed by her husband, Cameron, in the most hurtful of ways and I wanted to know how difficult it would be to go from “Get your hand off me or I will stab you in the thigh with this fork.” to “I forgive you.” And was it even possible to get the reader to forgive that betrayal? There is a quote that I love by Mark Twain – “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” I think that is a genuinely beautiful sentiment and when I look back on my life, I am sure that I will see many occasions on which I have forgiven those who have wronged me.

After months of writing and rewriting, I hope that I have created a realistic and relatable tale of love, betrayal and difficult choices. But I also didn’t want to make life too easy for the protagonist (because that’s no fun for the reader!) and so I created the perfect man to compete with Cameron. My Charlotte is now placed in a situation where she has the love of a man, Owen, who is perfect in every sense of the word, and the man who betrayed her but who she can’t get over. It’s kind of a sticky situation!

But how easy is it to forgive, really? Is the old adage Forgive but never forget true or can people truly let go of hurt and move on? I will admit that I had to work damn hard to make this story realistic. I didn’t want it to be too easy or have a fairytale feel to it. Life isn’t easy and, as far as I know, there are no fairy godmothers who come and save the day. In real life (and in my book) we have to work for what we want – and sometimes we don’t get it. That’s one thing that I hope keeps people guessing when they read my story; who will she choose? The good guy or the good guy. I love both of my male lead characters and while I was writing it, I often changed the ending about who she would decide to be with. I knew from the beginning what the end of the story would be, but the other guy was so loveable too, that I wanted to change the end. Or, even have two endings, one where she chose Cameron and one where she chose Owen. Alas, real life doesn’t work like that and neither does my book. There is only one ending and only one winner.

I am a lover of all things triangular. I’m fascinated by the Egyptian pyramids, I cut my toast into little triangles, and stories with love triangles get my blood pumping. But of all the books that I’d read (and there were a lot), I had not been able to find one where both men were equally as likeable. I always had a clear favourite; the guy I wanted to win the girl. My aim with Pieces of Us was to create a true conundrum. Both men love her. She loves both men. How does she choose? It’s a difficult choice for Charlotte; it was almost impossible for me to make a final decision and I hope the reader struggles with who they want to win.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the things that was really important to me about my novel was to make it as real as possible. I wanted someone who read it to wonder what they would do in that situation and actually be able to picture the events. A quote of William Shakespeare has always stayed in my head as I write – “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances.” I keep this in mind as I write and try to imagine that I’m writing something that is really happening, something that could happen.

Another point that the Shakespeare quote reinforces for me is that people have entrances and exits in our lives. Not everyone who comes into our life is meant to stay forever. So, how do I then write a character (Cameron) who had passed out of Charlotte’s life and justify his return? It was something I had to really think about and work on. The end result was both complicated and shockingly simple: love. Love defies logic and breaks all rules laid before it. Cameron still loved Charlotte and so he forced his way back into her life. I find it interesting how we can be so logical when giving others advice and yet be so blind when we are in the situation ourselves.

Forgiveness, as a concept, is still something that fascinates me and I am still in search of the perfect love triangle, but I enjoyed playing with those concepts in my debut novel.

Pieces of Us by Hannah Downing

Charlotte Barnes was living the perfect life, until a series of events forced her from everything she knew and loved. Now, five years later, she’s ready to face her past, and the truth. But will that truth destroy her new-found happiness?
Pieces of Us is an emotional roller-coaster about lost love and how one small indiscretion can ultimately change your entire life. In the end, Charlotte will question every decision she has ever made and find that, sometimes, you need to lose everything to truly find yourself.

Find out more about Hannah and her upcoming novels at her website: www.hannahdowning.com

Hannah is generously giving away a kindle copy of Pieces of Us. Leave a comment for your chance to win.

The Guardian

Few paranormal heroes have ever suffered as much as Sherrilyn Kenyon’s demigods who can’t die, no matter how much they might wish to. And Ms Kenyon piles the torture on thick, but it makes for a greater pay-off when the heroine helps them turn things around. They are like wounded animals, lethal on the outside but heartbreakingly vulnerable on the inside and this makes them very compelling. So even though I didn’t know who Seth and Lydia were before I read The Guardian, I was looking forward to their story.

After his mother abandoned him to die in the desert, Seth’s adoptive family sold him to source god Noir, who drains his powers to keep him weak. Noir sends Seth to find the key to Olympus and after having spent an eternity being abused by everyone in the Nether Realm, Seth is determined to obey.

Lydia goes to the Nether Realm to rescue the Dream-Hunter Solin but is caught by his captor. As Seth isn’t getting the answers he knows Solin can provide, he holds Lydia to guarantee Solin’s cooperation. Through spending time with Seth, she quickly sees that he is still being frequently abused and isn’t the evil overlord she thought he was. He had so many opportunities to hurt her but he chose to protect her instead.

Seth broke my heart so many times in this book, like when he was willing to let her hurt him like everyone else has, just as long as he could touch her. Or the joy he found in seeing a picture of the sun and hearing music from a laptop. I was blown away not only by the fact that he survived, but that there was still a part of him untouched by Noir that could be saved. Amazingly, he had the capacity to risk his own welfare for Lydia.

Lydia showed incredible strength by fighting for him and not giving up when faced by the overwhelming threat of Noir. Her steady stream of kindness and compassion broke through his fierce facade and began to heal the wounded boy who feared being abandoned yet again.

Watching Seth and Lydia bond in hell, learn to trust each other and let down their barriers led to a very satisfying and well-deserved HEA. Books like The Guardian are why I read romance.

reviewed by Allison R

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All ARRA members who leave a comment will go in the draw to win the book.

How to Breathe Fire

When beginning this story, I was immediately struck by the author’s delivery. Shona Husk presents a story that is steeped in oral traditions and mythologies long past. Her heroine is a young woman called Camea. Camea takes the hero’s journey in order to save her village and along the way finds true love.

An ancient curse has befallen the village of Adar. The Fire God has been slighted by a witch of Adar and for that a virgin must be sacrificed to the Prince of Fire until the prophesied one will be claimed as the true Bride. Thus so the story is told. So every turn of the Dark Moon, the witch of Adar sends a virgin to be the bride of the Prince of Fire in order to clear the debt and curse, and each time the brides fail and are consumed by fire.

Camea is chosen and meets Matai. Slowly Camea realises that it is not just her that is required as sacrifice to end the curse that hangs over Adar. Both her and Matai must play their part, but will Matai relinquish his control and face his fear?

Shona Husk creates a simplistic journey in the traditions of fantasy genre mixed with a traditional love story. This short story is sweet and captures the heroine’s strength in her belief of love. I found this story engaging and easy to read whilst maintaining the status quo of romance. It is a nice story; one to read when not wanting to get overly involved with characters or plot development. Quick, happy and leaves the reader with a smile that love eventually triumphs—just as it should!

reviewed by Lisa V

A review copy of this book was provided by the author.