Happy Friday!

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, do you have any plans?

I don’t.

We might go rock climbing on Sunday, not sure. My kiddos will be enjoying some sun and surf in Florida so hubby and I are on our own. I’m looking forward to the quiet (though I”ll miss the girls terribly).

I’ll probably spend the weekend writing and catching up on my reading – fun! Here are a few interesting articles to get started with if you’re catching up on your reading too.

What Makes a Romance Hero Hot?

Lucky in Love by best-selling and award-winning author Jill Shalvis came out today. Hooray! The Lucky Harbor novel will be followed by At Last in June and Forever and a Dayin July. Which means Jill has been quite the busy writer. Luckily(!), the books are already written, so Jill was able to take some time to talk with me about what exactly it takes for a romance novel hero to make our hearts skip beats.

Read More: http://books.usatoday.com/happyeverafter/post/2012-05-21/jill-shalvis-what-makes-a-romance-hero-hot/698874/1

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Mary Bly (a.k.a. Eloisa James) Talks to TIME About Her Literary Double Life

By day, Mary Bly is a highly credentialed (Harvard, Oxford, Yale) Shakespearean scholar and professor at Fordham University. But when no one is looking, she transforms herself into Eloisa James, author of 21 romance novels, 17 of them New York Times bestsellers. Under her nom de plume, she has 6 million books and e-books in print in more than 20 countries. Bly’s multiple roles don’t end there: she is also the daughter of award-winning poet Robert Bly and the late writer Carol Bly, the wife of Alessandro Vettori—the chair of Rutgers’ Italian department—and the mother of two teenagers.

Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2012/05/18/mary-bly-aka-eloisa-james-talks-to-time-about-her-literary-double-life/#ixzz1vtGUkyNk

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Top Ten Worst Pick Up Lines

If you’re in the romance writing business, it’s probably inadvisable to have your hero (or your heroine, for that matter) utter any of the following cringe-worthy lines. Without any further ado, here they are – my top ten worst pickup lines:

Read More: http://www.loveromancepassion.com/top-ten-worst-pickup-lines/

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What Charlie Chaplin Can Teach You About Writing A Great Love Story 

Charlie Chaplin is widely known as one of the greatest silent film directors and performers of all time. Even though he stopped creating films decades ago, his influence on storytelling can still be felt, even today.

Chaplin became one of the first filmmakers/performers to achieve international acclaim and worldwide stardom. Chaplin’s success was largely due to the powerful images he was able to create onscreen.

Read More: http://romanceuniversity.org/2012/05/21/ollin-morales-what-charlie-chaplin-can-teach-you-about-writing-a-great-love-story/

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The Secret to a More Romantic Writing Life

Ollin asked me to write about how I bring romance into my life so that I can write romantically.

I almost fell out of my chair with hysterical laughter. I have a full-time job, a wonderful husband, two active children under the age of ten and a ginormous puppy who likes to steal our underwear.

Romance is not an everyday occurrence in my life.

Most days, I’m lucky to stay awake long enough to meet my daily word count.

Read More: http://ollinmorales.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/romance/

 

A LESSON FOR ROMANCE WRITERS, COURTESY OF ELMORE LEONARD

Elmore Leonard isn’t a romance writer, of course. But the adaptation of his novel Out of Sight gives us one of the best romances I’ve ever seen in film (or read in a book.) The Steven Soderbergh film creates such tension between the hero and heroine (played by Georgia Clooney and Jennifer Lopez)  that it’s like a blueprint for anyone interested in romance writing.  If you don’t believe me, read this EW piece.

 

Read More: http://jamiebrenner.tumblr.com/post/23110327407/a-lesson-for-romance-writers-courtesy-of-elmore

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Ahhh, I love love love Elmore Leonard’s storytelling style. Happy reading. Happy writing, and Happy Memorial Day!

 

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