If you love westerns, I've got a definite recommendation for you.

is the latest release from my author, Sabine Starr. It's the story of a gorgeous saloon singer/outlaw and the US Marshall who think he's going to lock her up. Maybe he can lead her to redemption or maybe not, but he's sure to have a wild ride with her along the way.  Sabine Starr comes from a family with long-standing western ties, so she definitely knows of what she writes.  I hope you enjoy.

And if you're not yet convinced, check out the book trailer here on her publisher's website.

New Books

This month brings several new books from our authors. We'll highlight one today.

Last Chance Beauty Queen by Hope Ramsay continues the adventures of the townsfolk of Last Chance where the Cut n' Curl remains the place for the best gossip in town. This time British royalty has come to town, looking for an investment and perhaps a wife. Caroline's job depends upon making him feel welcome, but when he wants something she has no intention of giving him, sparks really are ignited. But this former Watermelon Queen will learn a lot about what's really important in life and community.


And if you happened to miss the first book in this series, Welcome to Last Chance, you can get it in digital form this week for a discounted price. Here's the link .

New Release: The Rancher's Courtship by Laurie Kingery

The agency is thrilled to announce that The Rancher's Courtship by Laurie Kingery is available on bookshelves today. Kingery's latest novel is the fourth installment in the popular Love Inspired Historicals series "Brides of Simpson Creek".

Though Caroline Wallace can't have a family, she can still have a purpose. Becoming Simpson Creek's new schoolmarm helps heal the heartache of losing Pete, her fiancé, to influenza.

Then Pete's brother arrives, trailing a herd of cattle and twin six-year-old girls.Jack Collier expected Pete and his bride to care for his daughters until he was settled in Montana. But bad weather and worse news strand Jack in Texas until spring. It's little wonder Caroline grows fond of Abby and Amelia. But could such a refined, warmhearted woman fall for a gruff rancher…before the time comes for him to leave again?

Make sure to pick up Laurie Kingery's seventeenth published novel!

New Release: Home at Last Chance by Hope Ramsay

The agency is excited to announce that Home at Last Chance, the sequel to the bestselling romance novel Welcome to Last Chance, is now available. Author Hope Ramsay brings the small southern town of Last Chance to life with her wonderful cast of characters once again:

Dear Reader,

You won't believe what's happened. My son Tulane has come back home! You remember Tulane? He'd set out to find fame and fortune in the big, wide world outside of Last Chance, and I'm mighty proud. But that's not the half of it-Tulane isn't only back, he's brought a young lady with him.

Now Sarah-she does PR for Tulane's stock-car team-she's from Boston, but she's just about the sweetest girl you could meet. I think she's meant to keep Tulane out of trouble after that story in the papers, but he doesn't want to talk about it. Anyhow, the Ladies Auxiliary can't wait to start matchmaking and introduce Sarah to our Reverend Ellis. But mark my words, Sarah is tired of being a good girl. And no one is better at breaking the rules and raising Cain than my son . . .

Listen to me going on and keeping customeres waiting. I best get back to work, but you come round again. The Cut 'n' Curl's got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon,

Ruby Rhodes

Be sure to pick up your copy today!

New Release: Just One Touch by Celeste O. Norfleet

Happy Monday! If this summer isn't hot enough for you already, our authors are ready to help you turn up the heat. Today's release is another steamy romance from the prolific Celeste O. Norfleet:

Her bottom line:

Journalist Tatiana Coles is famous for doing anything for a story--including putting herself in harm's way. Now, on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, she faces her greatest challenge: getting an exclusive on reclusive media mogul Spencer Cage. Putting his words to her paper will fast-track her career. But it also means facing the man she loved and lost.

Their work stays on the page...

Spencer plays by nobody's rules but his own. Three years ago, he and Tatiana were inseparable. Which made her betrayal all the more unforgivable. Now the self-made entrepreneur intends to have his sweet revenge: a summer the traitorous news correspondent will never forget.

...not in the bed

All it takes is one kiss to reignite desire. But how can he avoid putting his own heart on the line? Because now Spencer and Tatiana are playing for the highest stakes of all--a second chance at love...

Be sure to pick up or download your copy today!

New Release: "Talbot's Ace" by Diane Whiteside in Improper Gentlemen

Good news, Diane Whiteside fans: Improper Gentlemen, a collection of three historical romance short stories, is now available! The anthology includesTalbot's Ace, a new, steamy, old-west story by Diane Whiteside.

He rules Colorado's most glittering, anything-goes gambling palace. And Just Talbot never does something for nothing. But if daring Boston aristocrat Charlotte Morland needs his protection from a dangerous enemy, he'll have no choice but to make her business his pleasure...

Pick up or download a copy today!

New Release: Reconcilable Differences by Elizabeth Ashtree

Prosecutor Gwendolyn Haverty puts bad guys in jail…and keeps them there. That isn't easy when defense lawyers like Aaron Zimmerman try to spring them out again. Zimmerman is a rumpled do-gooder on a mission to free the innocent—which, of course, includes every single one of his clients behind bars!

His latest mission's success depends on convincing Gwen to listen to his witness. Fine. That ten minutes she gives Aaron to plead his case results in a ridiculous cell phone mix-up…and a playdate for their two boys? She's not sure how the line between professional and personal gets blurred so quickly. But it can't happen again. She can't let this man, no matter how compassionate, into her heart.

Elizabeth Ashtree's newest romance is now available from Harlequin. Be sure to pick up a copy!

New Release: What a Goddess Wants by Stephanie Julian

Tessa, Etruscan Goddess of the Dawn, is desperately fighting off a malicious god, but her powers are weakening. She needs a hero and fast, because only sexual energy can give her strength. So she seeks out Caligo, whose sexual prowess is legendary...

Caligo is a fabled Cimmerian warrior determined to stay away from spoiled goddesses who trample hearts after they've had their fun. But there's something irresistibly hot and inviting about Tessa, and he knows he's her only chance to escape the encroaching darkness...

Stephanie Julian is back with another steamy romance. You can pick up your copy today!

New Release: Just for the Night by Tawny Weber

Power outages happen, and you have to be somewhere—like in an empty store—with your ex. Who is still irresistible. And hot. And who knows how to make the most out of a dark situation….

Checklist for: Larissa Zahn

☑ Food

☑ Water

☑ First aid kit (With condoms. Be prepared. Very, very prepared.)

☑ Someone you're still overwhelmingly into (Jason Cantrell, I'm looking at you.)

☑ Plenty of time in the dark (Read: hot nookie. Lots of it.)

❑ The ability to walk away without regrets in the morning…. (Uh-oh!)

Intrigued? Then check out Tawny Weber's latest steamy romance in the Harlequin Blaze line, Just for the Night. You can pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore.

New Release: The Sheriff's Sweetheart by Laurie Kingery

Laurie Kingery is back today with the latest inspirational romance in her Brides of Simpson Creek series, The Sheriff's Sweetheart:

He needs to turn his life around... and Simpson Creek, Texas, is the perfect place to do it. On the run from his dangerous past, Sam Bishop is happy to find a town seeking "marriage-minded bachelors." A wealthy wife is just what he needs to make his gambling problems disappear. But when Prissy Gilmore catches Sam's eye, she proves to be much more than a rich match. Sam wants to deserve her, wants to become sheriff and protect her hometown—wants to be the man she believes him to be. Yet the true test is waiting, when his past returns to challenge his future.

To read more, pick up a copy today.

New Release: Cowboy Fever by Joanne Kennedy

The agency is thrilled to announce that author Joanne Kennedy has been named a 2011 RITA Finalist for Contemporary Single Title Romance for her last book, One Fine Cowboy. Congratulations, Joanne!

Today we are also announcing the release of Joanne's latest novel, another sexy, contemporary cowboy romance, Cowboy Fever:

Miss Rodeo Wyoming Jodie Bryce is back from the big city to find that her childhood friend Teague Treadwell’s rugged cowboy charm never looked better. But Teague thinks Jodie’s success lifted her out of his reach, and now he’s got to shed his bad boy image to be worthy of the girl next door.

Read more by picking up a copy of Cowboy Fever today!

New Release: The Shadow Guard by Diane Whiteside

The agency is happy to announce today's release of the latest novel by author Diane Whiteside, paranormal romance The Shadow Guard:

THE SHADOW GUARD. They are the darkest of Black Ops. A force operating outside the sphere of the CIA or FBI. Taking their mandate not from the U.S. government, but from magic. And sex.

SAHIR. Astrid Carlson is one of them, a mage on a mission. With her wispy blond hair and those long, long legs, she can make a man forget himself. Until it’s way too late.

KUBRI. Jake Hammond is the only thing she needs, the human conductor who can focus all her strength, bringing her to a peak of power, or shattering her completely.Yeah, she’s got a hundred or so years on him, but who’s counting when there’s an unstoppable assassin to take down – and unstoppable chemistry about to combust…

View the trailer for this book at dianewhiteside.com and pick up a copy of The Shadow Guard today!

New Release: Getting Played by Celeste Norfleet

If there's one thing Kenisha Lewis has learned, it's that the people you think you know best often surprise you the most. And not always in a good way. It seems the revelations just keep coming. First, her grandmother and her dad are having money troubles, which means she'll probably have to stay in public school and get a part-time job. And then there's her boyfriend, Terrence, who has more secrets than she could have imagined. Kenisha can't believe Terrence is dumb enough to get mixed up in a string of robberies. Or that he'd cheat on her with his old girlfriend. Or could it be that she just doesn't want to admit the truth? Where Kenisha goes, drama follows, but she's getting stronger and smarter every day. And she doesn't plan on getting played again....

Getting Played is Celeste O. Norfleet's latest YA novel from Kimani Romance's Tru line. Pick up a copy today and check it out!

New Release: Come Away with Me by Celeste O. Norfleet

We are happy to announce that Celeste Norfleet is back with another steamy romance, Come Away with Me.

After being dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Shay Daniels isn't looking to get burned again. But that's before she meets legendary love expert Quinn Anderson at a relationship therapy retreat. The jaded travel show host vows to get an exclusive story on the gorgeous, enigmatic Dr. Love.

Shay may not be buying into Quinn's whole relationship philosophy, but boy is he hot. Then the widowed entrepreneur throws Shay a challenge: he'll teach her the art of seducing a man by becoming her partner in an erotic test run. But he never expects his passionate student to surpass the teacher. Now the only exclusive he'll give is the one on Shay's heart.

To find out more and buy a copy, click here.

Guest Blog: Finding an Emotional Touchstone

We welcome Hope Ramsay to the keyboard today as we continue to celebrate the release of Welcome to Last Chance, Hope's debut from Grand Central Publishing/Forever Romance. Without further ado:

I try to write emotional stories. It's something I work on diligently. Writing emotional stories doesn't come as easily as finding plot twists or complications for my characters. And I know that I can get pretty caught up in the plot of a story, and lose the emotional aspects of it that are so important when writing romance.

For this reason, I won't even start a story without an overarching emotional touchstone for the novel, as well as emotional touchstones for the hero and heroine.

What's a touchstone? It's something tangible that can put me right into the correct emotional frame of mind. It's a way of borrowing an emotion from something, because it's hard to write a sad scene when you're feeling happy, or to write about a character who needs to take chances, when you are naturally a risk taker.

I need short cuts, and that's what a touchstone is.

Because nothing moves me emotionally the way music does, my touchstones are always songs. And a group of them in a play list on my iPod are almost like a soundtrack for the novel I might be working on. I'll put that play list on while I'm writing and I'm never very far from where the story lives emotionally. When I get lost, or I need to rethink something, I dial up a particular song and listen to it repeatedly. It always works.

So, to celebrate the release day for WELCOME TO LAST CHANCE, I thought I would share a portion of the book's soundtrack.

• God Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts is the song that moved me to write this story. I first heard this song on my way to an RWA chapter meeting, and I knew, right then I had found the theme for the next book. WELCOME TO LAST CHANCE is all about how the hero and heroine have to overcome their broken pasts. In fact, the troubles my lovers have suffered in the past are precisely what makes them ready for each other.
• Ask for More by David Wilcox is a song whose title I shamelessly use in a scene that takes place in the local beauty shop, where Miz Miriam, my town matchmaker, tells my heroine, Jane, that she should "ask for more." The song is about listening to the signs from on high that whisper in your ear and tell you that you are selling yourself short. Jane needs to learn how to love herself, and asking for more is the first step on that journey.
• When the Sand Runs Out also by Rascal Flatts is a song about living one's life to the fullest. This song is the emotional touchstone for my hero, Clay. He's in the middle of a life crisis where he's spending way too much time worrying about what happened in the past and trying to be safe. The song is all about taking a chance -- something that Clay really needs to do.
  

I have a dozen other songs in this sound track. Some of them apply to minor characters, and some apply to specific scenes and turning points. I can't share them here without spoiling the story for you.

But don't know how I would write anything worth reading without finding inspiration and emotion in music.

New Release

Today we're celebrating the release of Welcome to Last Chance, the first in a series by debut author Hope Ramsay set in Last Chance, South Carolina, where the Cut ‘n Curl is gossip central, the Kountry Kitchen serves up biscuits that melt in your mouth, and the local good ol boys are good looking and mostly single. When Wanda Jane Coblentz blows into Last Chance with five bucks to her name, she meets local fiddler Clay Rhodes at a bar and spends a hot first night at the local no-tell motel. She expects to move on soon, but it seems like she and Clay may be more of a match than she ever dreamed. Clay's mother, Ruby Rhodes, is going to do everything she can to make sure Clay and Jane figure out they're singing the same tune. Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, saying "Ramsay strikes an excellent balance between tension and humor as she spins a fine yarn." Hope is celebrating her release today over at the Ruby Slipped Sisterhood. Check it out and pick up a copy of Welcome to Last Chance today!

Valentine's Day Party!

On Valentine’s Day, Tawny Weber is having a party on her website: www.TawnyWeber.com! Easy to get to, and you can party in your pajamas even! It’s going to be tons of fun. It will wrap up Tawny’s Top Ten blog tour, and come complete with its very own Top Ten (Top Ten Tips for a Hot Valentine’s Night), a free downloadable short story as a door prize for everyone who attends, and all attendees will be entered in a drawing for a fun Valentine’s Basket.

All you have to do to enjoy the fun is RSVP so you receive your exclusive invitation.

Submissions Update

Just a brief update from the agency on submissions. As of February 15th, 2011, the agency will be closed to new queries due to the large volume of submissions currently under consideration. Queries submitted to Elaine or Naomi after the 15th will be deleted unread. Stay tuned to the website and blog for updates. Thanks!

New Releases Round-Up

In The Doctor Takes a Wife, the second book in the "Brides of Simpson Creek" series by author Laurie Kingery, Sarah Matthews knows that Dr. Nolan Walker is a good man, not to mention a handsome one. But she just can't return the Yankee's affection so soon after the War. When the town is struck by a deadly influenza epidemic and Nolan battles to save Sarah's life, Sarah will have to decide if she could love this man. To read more about The Doctor Takes a Wife, click here. Additionally, Mail Order Cowboy, the first book in the series, is currently available from Harlequin as a Books on a Budget special!


In Breaking the Rules, by Tawny Weber, Max is off duty, but he still has one last job to do--look in on his best friend’s kid sister. Only once he meets Sophia, all thought of keeping his hands to himself go out the window. A recent widow, the last thing Sophia needs is another man telling her what to do. Even if that gorgeous man leaves her drooling in a puddle of lust... To read more, click here, and stay tuned for a special Valentine's Day event from Tawny Weber tomorrow.

New Release & Free Read!

This month marks the release of Mail Order Cowboy, by Laurie Kingery. With beaux scarce in post-Civil War Texas, practical Milly Matthews and her “Spinster Society” friends have their hands full protecting their ranches. Their only hope: advertising for mail-order grooms. But aristocratic British cavalry officer Nicholas Brookfield isn’t exactly Milly’s idea of a cowboy—or a man she can trust. And the more Nick proves himself as a ranch hand, the more he must hide his past from the woman he longs to make his own. Learn more about the book by clicking here.

Also this month, Naughty or Nice by Tawny Weber is available exclusively as a free online read at eHarlequin.com. Mari Madison wants only two things for Christmas: to help her mother win the town's annual holiday decorating contest and to reinstate her good-girl reputation so that she can start her business on the right foot. Then across the street she spots the best-looking Christmas package she's ever seen…and realizes it's Declan Cole. The man who ruined her reputation in the first place. The man who's sure he's going to win the contest. To read the serialized story (with new chapters being released daily), click here.