Sarah MacLean's Blog, page 15

Something to make you smile…

I defy you to watch this and not smile (I myself have trouble not crying a bit at the end)!

Eleven Questions with Maya Rodale!

Maya Rodale is awesome. Sure, she's a romance novelist who writes Regencies (I mean, that alone puts her in the awesome category), but she also shares fabulous, fascinating tidbits on Regency locales like White's on her super fun blog, and she's one of the co-founders of one of my very very favorite places in the world, Lady Jane's Salon.

Aside: Planning a trip to New York, try to make it straddle the first Monday of the month…and do not miss Lady Jane's–the only romance reading series in NYC. In town for RWA? There's one scheduled for the Monday of RWA week (I'm reading from Eleven Scandals there!)…and these things are not to be missed.

But back to Maya. She's fab. And, she's my pub sister. We're both Avon ladies, and we both have new books out this month! Maya's latest, A Tale of Two Lovers is on shelves now! As part of her release month festivities, she's agreed to hop into the hot seat to answer Eleven Questions!

Welcome, Maya!

1) Alpha or Beta?

Absolutely alpha. Oh, and not just me, ha–For the hero, too! And the heroine. A Tale Of Two Lovers features an alpha heroine. I have no idea where she gets it from.

2) Virgin Widow or Secret Baby?

Secret baby. My favorite secret baby story: Loretta Chase's Not Quite A Lady. I have also written a secret baby book, but I shall not say which one.

3) Time Travel or Futuristic?

Time travel, as long as we skip over junior high.

4) Hot as Sin or Cold as Ice?

Hot as sin, as I'm betting that will involve more nudity.

5) Spinster or First Season Out?

Spinster on her first season out!

6) England or Anywhere but?

My husband is English so I must answer with England, or else he will not reach things on high shelves for me and then I won't be able to access my handbags or champagne glasses. Horrors!

7) Vampire or Shape Shifter?

Lud, I am a regency gal! I have no idea what those things are, so I will choose option c) Rakes.

8) Small town or Big city?

I'm a small town girl living in a big city and working part-time on a farm. I love it all. My Writing Girl books are all set in London–though you might not guess from the green–and absolutely stunningly gorgeous–cover of A Tale Of Two Lovers.

9) Wallflower or Belle of the Ball?

Wallflower. When no one is paying attention to you, there are many more opportunities for all sorts of trouble.

10) Unrequited love or love at first sight?

Unrequited love, to put it politely, sucks. Love at first sight–now that I like. Hey Mr. DJ, please start the Kylie Minogue song here.

11) Maya's choice! Answer her question in comments for a chance to win a copy of both A Groom of One's Own and A Tale of Two Lovers!

Marriage of convenience or secret elopement?!

EXCELLENT question, Maya…tropes are the best, aren't they? So go ahead, readers! Comment below with your choice and we'll choose one winner on Friday to receive copies of both of Maya's books!

Eleven Questions with Vanessa Kelly

I'm so happy to host my twitter buddy Vanessa Kelly as part of the release month celebration of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart! I'm loving the fabulous answers that other authors are sharing as part of the Eleven Questions series, and Vanessa's are no different! She's taken some time out of her busy schedule talking about her latest release– My Favorite Countess –to get in the hot seat!

Welcome, Vanessa!

1. Alpha or Beta?

Alpha all the way, sister. I love a man who growls when he's making love. Rowr!

2. Virgin Widow or Secret Baby?

Oh, I think I'm going to have to go with Virgin Widow. Much easier than Secret Baby in the Regency era. My Favorite Countess has a Secret Sister and that was hard enough to pull off. A Secret Baby might make my head explode.

3. Time Travel or Futuristic?

I'm a sucker for a good Futuristic. Must be all those years I spent watching Star Trek Generations and lusting after Jean Luc Picard. Plus, I want my own space ship.

4. Hot as Sin or Cold as Ice

Can't I have both? *whine* Okay, I think Cold as Ice. That kind of guy falls really, really hard. Good things happen to the heroine when he does.

5. Spinster or First Season Out?

Definitely Spinster. She's been watching from the sidelines for way too long, and she knows exactly what she wants.

6. England or Anywhere but?

England. I guess I'm a bit of a traditionalist, but I gave my heart to Mayfair long ago.

7. Vampire or Shape Shifter

Vampire. Fangs and eternal life are already enough of a challenge for any gal to deal with.

8. Small Town or Big City

Definitely Big City. Don't want those nosy neighbors snooping around in my sex life! Plus, there are more food choices in the Big City.

9. Wallflower or Belle of the Ball

Wallflower. She sees all. She knows all.

10. Unrequited Love or Love At First Sight

I'm a sucker for Love At First Sight, although my last book, Sex And The Single Earl, had an Unrequited Love theme. I felt so bad for my heroine – who had been suffering from Unrequited Love for years – that I really had to punish the hero.

11. Vanessa's Choice! Answer her question in comments for a chance to win a copy of My Favorite Countess!

The heroine of My Favorite Countess has a bit of, ahem, a past. Okay, she's really kind of a bad girl, although I swear to you that she reforms. Eventually. I've always been intrigued by the idea of reforming the bad girl, but I love the virgin heroine, too. So, readers, which kind of heroine do you prefer? Virgin or Experienced Woman With a Past?

Oooh…I love this question! What do you guys think? Leave your answer in comments, and we'll choose a winner on Tuesday for a copy of Vanessa's My Favorite Countess! And check back all month long for more authors answering Eleven Questions!!

Kate Noble on Eleven Questions!

I love the variety of answers I've been getting on the blog for my Eleven Questions in celebration of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart…the variety of answers from all these romance ladies makes for super fun times! And today…I'm so excited to have Kate Noble join the party! Kate is a star…her books are incredibly romantic and lush and lovely, and her next release, Follow My Lead, is so so so yummy…and out next week!

So…I asked Kate the same quick-and-dirty questions I've been asking romance authors all month long…and here's what happened!

1. Alpha or Beta?

Beta. Alphas are too predictable.

2. Virgin Widow or Secret Baby?

Virgin Widow. I feel like you could keep virginity a secret easier than a baby.

3. Time Travel or Futuristic?

Time Travel. Preferably with Dr. Who.

4. Hot as Sin or Cold as Ice?

Cold as Ice. Cuz then you get to watch 'em melt.

5. Spinster or First Season Out?

Spinster. I met the love of my life when I was 30. In regency times, I'd have been practically decrepit.

6. England or Anywhere but?

England! Only because I spent a long time not in England in Follow My Lead, and I was so happy to return to my character's home again!

7. Vampire or Shape Shifter?

Vampire. Because you never know what your gonna get with a shape shifter. Yeah, wolves and cougars are cool, but what happens if they shift into a guinea pig? A flounder?

8. Small town or Big city?

Big City. Live it. Love it.

9. Wallflower or Belle of the Ball?

Belle of the Ball – which I personally would never be. I'm always envious of the ones who know all the dance steps.

10. Unrequited love or love at first sight?

Love at first sight that then goes unrequited until someone gets their head in gear and realizes what they've been looking for has been there the whole time. (Did I just reference a Taylor Swift song? Lord help me.)

11. Kate's choice! Comment below for a chance to win a copy of Follow My Lead!

Readers: How do you like your heroes? Blond, brunette or redhead?

Oh, my…is this one of my favorite questions, or what? You can't really go wrong with any of these answers! So…talk it out in comments, ladies…and we'll choose one lucky winner on Monday to win Kate's book! And…to tide you over until then…how about this fabulous book trailer??

Eleven Questions for Kris Kennedy!

I'm excited to have Kris Kennedy hanging out on the blog today to talk about Virgin Widows, Alpha males and other Romancey-type things in celebration of both the launch (last week!) of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart and Kris's Defiant!

Kris is an award-winning writer of medieval romances (yay!) with sexy stories and incredibly good looking heroes, and she has agreed to take her turn at answering Eleven Questions despite her busy writing schedule!

Welcome, Kris!

1. Alpha or Beta?

Gah—that's hard! I love them both. I like alphas who are real alphas, i.e. They lead because others follow, not by pounding others into the dirt physically or emotionally. But I definitely find the quiet, confident guy sexy as hell. The guy who's so confident he can just lay low and enjoy watching the heroine shine. Fine, I'll choose: Alpha. Big, bad, good-hearted alpha.

2. Virgin Widow or Secret Baby?

Virgin widow all the way. I have kids; after the super-sexy, I-Am-Uber-Woman nine months are over, I have hard time envisioning The Sexy for awhile. :)

3. Time Travel or Futuristic?

Depends on author. I'll say time travel, because they can go back in time, and that's where my little fiction-loving heart lies, in historicals.

4. Hot as Sin or Cold as Ice?

Oohh….hot! Very, very hot. Disdain doesn't turn me on; being turned on turns me on. :)

5. Spinster or First Season Out?

Spinster! I like my heroines to know what's what, and when they get a glimpse of what-could-be, they know exactly what they're seeing.

6. England or Anywhere but?

England is fine by me, but I do wish there were more non-England-set stories, in every era. I would draw blood (not necessarily mine though) for a new, great American Revolution-set romance. And my eternal lament remains: why aren't there more sexy Irish-set romances?! (Sarah's note: I think you're single handedly bringing the Irish-sexy back, Kris!)

7. Vampire or Shape Shifter?

Vampy vamp-vamp. Love me a sexy vamp.

8. Small Town or Big City?

Um… Small town. And only because I like big things in little packages, the amazing in the mundane, the shining star in the dark sky. I think there's something inherently more constraining about a small town, so breaking free has the potential to be so incredibly potent, whether that breaking free is sexual, emotional, or psychological. Or all three!

9. Wallflower or Belle of the Ball?

Wallflower. I love make-over, fish-out-of-water stories, and to me, the wallflower is the the epitome of those things.

10. Unrequited love or love at first sight?

Love at first sight. And then futile resistance to it for 350 pages. :)

11. Kris's choice! Answer her question in comments, and one lucky winner will receive a copy of Defiant!

In general, are you more a fan of a hero with a Take-Charge approach or a Let-Her-Lead approach to . . . ah, the, ah…. You know, The Ah. :-)

LOL! I love this question…and can't wait for the answers…so what's your pleasure (pun very much intended!)? We'll choose one commenter on Friday to win!

Royal Wedding 2011!

22.36

ok…ONE MORE! Now……bed!

22.27

Just one little test before sleeping!

I'm headed to bed, but I'll be up bright and early at 4:45am, ready to liveblog all Royal Wedding fabulousness! See you then! xoxo

 

Eleven Questions with Anne Mallory!

I do not hide the fact that I think Anne Mallory's books are fabulous. I've been reading Anne's books for as long as she's been writing them, and I adore them. I think she writes the *journey* of love better than most of us, and there's nothing so satisfying as getting to the end of one of her books…because you just know that the hero and the heroine have earned their happily ever after.

When I read her most recent release, One Night Is Never Enough, I immediately emailed her to tell her how much I loved it…and begged her to come do an Eleven Questions with me to celebrate the launch of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart. She was kind enough to reply to my email…and to agree, instead of simply asking me to stop being her crazy stalker fan.

So…here she is! Welcome, Anne!

1) Alpha or Beta?

Alpha! I love a mix, but Alphas are glorious in fiction.

2) Virgin Widow or Secret Baby?

Even if I only read one a year, there is nothing quite so tension provoking as a secret baby storyline. A character keeping such a big secret always makes me tense, and I tend to wildly flip the pages until I get to the reveal!

3) Time Travel or Futuristic?

Futuristic! I want to dream about porting from place to place in under 3 seconds!

4) Hot as Sin or Cold as Ice?

Cold as Ice that really hides Hot as Sin. ;)

5) Spinster or First Season Out?

Spinster! Spinster! I enjoy reading about the excitement of a debut, but spinsters tend to have a heady character mix of capability and vulnerability that rocks.

6) England or Anywhere but?

England!

7) Vampire or Shape Shifter?

Can I get my very own David Bowie owl? Shape Shifter!

8) Small town or Big city?

Small towns get all the love, so I'm spreading it — Big city!

9) Wallflower or Belle of the Ball?

The Wallflower dreaming of being the Belle of the Ball. :)

10) Unrequited love or love at first sight?

So hard to choose! There is nothing like the wonderful agony of an unrequited love (especially when you know the character will eventually get his/her prize!)…but nothing can beat the thrill of love at first sight. How about…Unrequited love at first sight! :D

11) Anne's choice! Answer her question in comments, and one lucky winner will receive a copy of One Night is Never Enough!

Titled Lord/Prince or Powerful Working Man?

Ooh…I love this question! I gotta say, there's something pretty sizzling in both of those men! Can't wait to read your answers in comments! We'll choose a winner on Monday to win Anne's latest!

Events, Excitement & Eloisa James!

It is official! Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart is out in the world in all it's pink glory! I'm so thrilled to have heard from many of you, who have already hunted down a copy and begun reading (and in some cases finished reading!!) Juliana & Simon's story! My readers are the BEST!

Today is an even bigger day than yesterday, though, so hang onto your hats!

After some writing this morning, I'm headed off to a studio in midtown Manhattan to meet with Eloisa James for our LIVE online virtual booksigning and author chat! We will be talking about romance (I've got plans to get her to chat about Josie & Mayne and about her incredible article on history and sex and how romance reconciles the two) and answering readers' questions (yours, I hope!) live!  You'll also be able to order signed, personalized books from both Eloisa and me as part of the event! It all starts at 5pm ET…I hope you'll join us at livestream.com/romance… these events are particularly fun because the chat box on the livestream page gets…well…chatty, and you'll meet other romance readers from around the world!

But the live event with Eloisa isn't the only thing that's happening today! After that, I'll be headed to WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn for a book party with two other fabulous authors who also have new releases out…Maya Rodale and Kieran Kramer! Kieran was just selected as an Author to Watch by RT Book Reviews, and her latest, Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage, is already burning up the lists…and Maya's A Tale of Two Lovers continues her Writing Girls series, about young women writers in the Regency (added bonus, she has a Simon! AND a Julianna!!)!

I'm SUPER excited for this event…WORD is taking questions via email (info@wordbrooklyn.com), and we'll be recording the whole thing to share online, ultimately! It's going to be incredibly fun, and with Maya & Kieran around, incredibly funny! If you're a New Yorker with nothing to do tonight…please join us…and if you're not a New Yorker, consider sending in your questions anyway! We promise to share the answers!

All in all, a busy day…especially considering the fact that I need to write for a bit before I start getting cuted up for the festivities…but thank you, thank you, thank you for being so awesome and reading my blog…and also my books. You're the best part of this whole gig. Really.

Eleven Questions for the Amazing Anna Campbell!

As you know, I've been hosting some of my favorite authors all this month to celebrate the release (TODAY! OMG!!!) of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart! I am so so so so excited to be able to share my release date with the fabulous, incomparable Anna Campbell–her latest, Midnight's Wild Passion, is on shelves (and arriving by post) today!

I'm even more excited that she agreed to come over and spend HER release day with me!

Anna's agreed to hop into the hot seat for Eleven Questions!

Welcome you bit of Aussie Awesome!

Hiya Sarah, you star! I'm really having trouble controlling my desire to pick up Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart instead of working on my latest story! I loved Nine Rules and Ten Ways. So looking forward to Juliana's story. Thanks so much for having me here to celebrate the launch of Midnight's Wild Passion!

1) Alpha or Beta?

Alpha ALL the way, babeeeeee! What is this beta of which you speak?

2) Virgin Widow or Secret Baby?

Oh, love these questions! I haven't actually written a virgin widow but one day, I'd love to. In my experience, babies are too noisy to be secret ;-)

3) Time Travel or Futuristic?

Time travel. Especially if my heroine gets to take some toothpaste.

4) Hot as Sin or Cold as Ice?

Actually cold as ice can be hot as sin.

5) Spinster or First Season Out?

Spinster – love the idea of our hero plumbing all that repressed passion.

6) England or Anywhere but?

England. Well, maybe Scotland too!

7) Vampire or Shape Shifter?

Vamp. I hate getting fur stuck in my teeth!

8) Small town or Big city?

Big city!

9) Wallflower or Belle of the Ball?

Who, me or my characters? I certainly like fantasizing about being the belle of the ball. Although given I'm so noisy, perhaps the BELL of the ball. Or my figure – the ball of the ball? Or my dancing – the bull of the ball? Or maybe I'm hosting so it's the bill of the ball? Or maybe it's my party and I'll cry if I want to, so it's the BAWL of the ball. Are you sorry

you asked? (Sarah's note: That Anna, she's the darling of the Pun…are you groaning yet?)

10) Unrequited love or love at first sight?

Actually my characters pretty much fall in love at first sight although often it takes them the rest of the book to admit it! I kinda like the idea of the coup de foudre – we Regency types break into French at the drop of a chapeau, didn't you know? Just ask Sarah the way to the Louvre and she'll tell you where to go… (Sarah's note: A Paris. Avec un homme sexy — I said sexy in a French accent, fyi.)

11) Anna's choice! Answer her question in comments for a chance to win a copy of Midnight's Wild Passion!!

Hmm, I seem to be thinking of heroes (perhaps someone to rescue me from my life of dull punning and show me what really good, earth-shattering jokes are). What do you prefer? A rake? A reformer (love the idea of chipping away to find the wild man inside)? A romantic? A risk-taker? Rasputin? Rambo?

Answers please, involving the letter 'R' at least once! One lucky commenter gets a signed copy of MIDNIGHT'S WILD PASSION (featuring a rake and several ball scenes at no extra charge).

Thanks so much for coming by, Anna! You're always so fun…come back soon? xoxo

Eleven of My Favorite Pink Things

I couldn't resist this silly blog post in honor of the "radioactive pink" cover of Eleven! Tell me your favorite pink thing in comments for a chance to win a signed copy of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart, in stores tomorrow!

Eleven Pink Things I Love!

1) The pink ribbon to fight Breast Cancer.

2) Pink

3) Pink Lemonade (Martha Stewart's recipe below):

1 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice, plus 4 lemons, thinly sliced crosswise, for garnish

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

2 cups cranberry juice

4) Lauren Willig's The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. Jane Austen, meet Bridget Jones.

5) The Opening Credits of The Pink Panther

6) Jem. Rock Legend? Corporate Shark? Or *both*?!? (so, she's technically not pink. But her hair is…and it's AWESOME.)

7) Puppies' pink muzzles.

8) Pink-Pearl erasers. Because everyone makes mistakes. Especially me. Now, if only I had one big enough to erase that box of Girl Scout cookies I ate yesterday…

9) Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.

10) The Pink Ladies

11) The Cover of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart, in stores tomorrow!

Tell me your favorite pink thing by midnight Eastern Time, and be entered to win a copy of Eleven Scandals!