***The winners of the signed copies of INEVITABLE are comment #25 “chey” and comment #40 “Elaine.” Please email me at michelle@michellerowen.com with your mailing addresses to claim your prizes. Thanks everyone for the great comments!***

There is one thing I love most about March. No, it’s not the snow finally going away, although that is pretty good to see here in Southern Ontario. It’s not March Break, since as a writer I work seven days a week (or at least i have been lately!) and no tropical vacays are in my immediate future, and it’s not the new spring fashion lines. Because, um, I don’t dress nearly well enough to care.

It’s something small. Something sweet. And something that’s only here once a year.

Yes, it’s the Cadbury Egg. A chocolate shell filled with creamy ambrosia. These divine little things have been around pretty much all my life and the fact that they’re only available part of the year makes them all the more desirable.

Sure, they also have the Cadbury MIni Eggs you can get all the time, but…they’re NOT THE SAME. They are not quite as special and not quite as good.

This is a treat that can’t be had all the time. Mostly because it will make you sick. But aren’t some the greatest things in life best enjoyed in moderation? If I downed a dozen of these puppies, I’d probably feel very ill. It would be too much of a good thing! And then I might not want them anymore. I had that experience with donuts when I worked at a donut store in college. But let’s not talk about the Year of the Apple Fritter.

So there you go. My love of the Cadbury Mini Egg! Yum!!

Another thing I love about March is that this is my release month for my third Blaze INEVITABLE. While totally standalone, it’s set in the same world as my previous two books with this fun, fabulous, and super sexy line. It’s paranormal, (since, quite frankly, I’m not totally positive I can write anything that isn’t!), following the lives and loves of the agents of PARA (the Paranormal Assessment and Recover Agency).

Some things should never be bottled up…

Paranormal investigator and erotic novelist Emma Black is at a masquerade ball and looking for a coveted lust potion. Unexpectedly, she bumps into her former partner, the ridiculously sexy (oh so sexy!) Ryan Shephard. And, for added bonus temptation points, the rare lust potion is splashed on both of them—with instantaneously hot results!

But is the incredible, mind-blowing sex between them only the result of the potion? Or are Emma and Ryan simply giving in to the inevitable?

—

I’d love to give away TWO signed copies of INEVITABLE to a couple commenters who can tell me — What’s your favorite kind of chocolate or candy, either now or when you were a kid? I’ll pick two winners at random on Sunday, March 27th at 9:00 pm EST! International entries welcome. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your comments! Lots of great shows to look forward to! The winner of the signed copy of TOUCH AND GO is comment #16 Karyn Gerrard. Karyn, please email me at michelle@michellerowen.com with your mailing address to claim the book!

So much to do, so little time! Especially in the fall when we’re bombarded with new television shows. That’s a dangerous prospect for a career-couch potato like yours truly.

Mostly I’m looking forward to returning shows — Supernatural, Survivor… uh, I’m sure there are more. New shows haven’t been doing it for me lately. I checked out Nikita — nope. Nothing like the original. Lost Girl — nope. Don’t get me started on this one. I’ve been totally underwhelmed with the new offerings. I have The Event on my DVR waiting for me to find the time to give it a go. I’m looking for my Lost replacement. It could happen.

What I’ve really been doing is working hard on my revisions to my March 2011 Blaze, INEVITABLE. It’s inevitable that I’ll be done soon! Ha ha. Inevitable. I used the title to… oh never mind.

Yesterday I got a big box full of my November Blaze, TOUCH AND GO, which has, I think, the hottest cover ever! In this one, I return to the paranormal investigation agency I started in my first Blaze, HOT SPELL, as two sexy agents head to the Bahamas to solve a mystery and try not to give in to the mutual lust they’re feeling. Will they succeed? Well… it is a Blaze. (K)

I’d love to give away a signed copy of TOUCH AND GO to a commenter. Tell me what Fall TV show you’re most anticipating and why — new or old.

I’ll pick a winner at random on Monday, October 4th at 9:00pm EST. Good luck!

Happy Reading!

Michelle xoxo

Dear Lost,

Six seasons ago, I heard about a new show starting by the guy who created Alias. It was supposed to be different than any other show out there. From the previews it looked a bit like a (more) scripted version Survivor, which I loved, so I tuned in for the pilot and was hooked from the first episode.

Yes, there have been some low points for us, Lost. Season three was a bit bizarre, focusing on characters that we’d never met before — sometimes more than the characters we’d come to care about. You almost lost me there (heh, no pun intended), but I stuck around. Much like reading a bad book from a favorite author, I trusted you to regain your momentum. And hoo boy, you did. You’re one of the very few television shows that I need to watch with complete focus every week — no talking or distractions. This is mostly because you’re so hard to understand, and…I kinda dig that about you. You’re complicated.

Since I write romance I was taken mostly by the relationships you created. My favorite one, and one that you have really dropped the ball on, in my opinion, was Kate and Sawyer. Kate was a twit, but her sexual tension with bad boy, con artist Sawyer was hot hot hot!! The scene in Season 1 with him tied up at the tree and conning her into kissing him? Probably the hottest kiss on a network television show I’ve every seen. “Baby, I’m tied to a tree in the jungle of mystery.”

Brilliant.

Alas, I think your writers preferred her with Jack, but there wasn’t nearly as much tension there. Oh well. Jack’s still pretty. Kate’s still a twit.

The other romance on the show was Sun and Jin, a married couple who fell in love again on the island. Well, anyone who’s watching the show knows what you did with them. Thanks, you jerks! Bad Lost! Very bad!!!

Also, a fantastic romance was Desmond and Penny, two lovers torn apart and searching for each other even when all seems lost (again, I pun). They got their HEA. Well, I thought they did. Now in season 6 with only one episode left, it doesn’t look good for them! Bad Lost! Very bad!!!

So Lost is not a romance novel. Got it. Too bad, since it might be just a little bit better. Not that it isn’t already great. It is. But a satisfying romantic arc(s) and a happily ever after(s) is a bonus, as far as I’m concerned.

I’m not counting on any happily ever after on your 2-1/2 hour season finale on Sunday, but I’ll be watching with full focus, hoping that everything works out in a — dare I hope for it? — satisfying conclusion.

And please don’t kill Sawyer. I (L) him.

A fan,

Michelle Rowen xoxo

Do you love Lost? Are you looking forward to the season finale? Already in mourning for a show this intricate and complicated? Is there anything else on TV that you love as much? Were you a Kate/Sawyer fan or a Kate/Jack fan? Any predictions on how it’s all going to turn out? (no spoilers please!)

My blog post here crept up on me. Not a great excuse since I know precisely when I’m supposed to post. I could plan ahead, but that would really go against my nature, you see. Plan ahead and have things go nice and smoothly, you say? Ridiculous.

Anyway, I thought I’d just post about my dark secret. My secret that isn’t exactly a real secret since I”ll tell anyone who wants to know — I’m a Twihard. If you don’t know what that is, it’s someone who’s a mega fan of the Twilight franchise. It keeps my inner sixteen year old alive and well and squeeing so often it’s rather embarrassing, really.

I resisted the books for a while, but then plunged in and read them back-to-back-to-back-to…uh…back. Loved ‘em. And I loved the movies (the first one a bit more than the second one which I felt was lacking a bit of a soul. Still haven’t quite put my finger on why it didn’t totally work for me).

The third movie, ECLIPSE, opens June 30th and continues to explore my favorite thing about this series and one of my favorite fiction tropes in general: The Love Triangle. I love triangles. In a Blaze, I don’t have enough pages to add a love triangle. If I had more pages, you can bet there would be one included.

So here’s my question — do you watch Twilight? Read it? Love it? Hate it? Loathe the hype it gets? Are you looking forward to the new movie? And, most importantly, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob? :-[  (&)

****The winner of the signed copy of HOT SPELL is: Tori Lennox. I have contacted her via email. Thank you to all who entered! I loved your “inspiration” picks!!!***

I don’t know how many other authors do this. I suspect many based on “inspiration” blog posts I see. But part of my process of writing a book is to do a fantasy casting of the characters so I can picture them more easily in my head when I’m writing. Now that I’ve written more than a dozen books, I find that I don’t have to dig too deeply into Hollywood to find my perfect heroes. In fact, the same actor has been used in my mental processes… (counting)… three times now.

There’s something about (L) Josh Holloway (L) that seems to fit very nicely with the type of hero I like to write, especially if I need him to have a little swagger and attitude and big-time sex appeal. Josh was my mental image for Jacob in my Blaze debut, HOT SPELL, and he also ended up being (with a bit of a mental hair and fashion makeover) the perfect Patrick, the hero of my second Blaze, STORMY WEATHER.

Don’t know why.

Wait a minute…sure I do! He’s just so darn pretty! (K) Plus he’s got expressive eyes and has that angsty way about him that I need for a good romantic hero. On Lost, I’ve gotten to watch bad boy Sawyer pine over (annoying) Kate for five seasons now. Can’t wait until the final season starts up at the beginning of February! I’ve been a loyal fan of this show since the premiere.

Also? The man does look mighty fine without a shirt on.

What can I say? Inspiration comes to me in strange and wonderful ways. And I hope to continue to be able to use Mr. Holloway to inspire many characters to come. I hope he doesn’t mind too much.

Happy Reading!

Michelle Rowen (D)

***************  CONTEST  ***************

I want to give away a signed copy of HOT SPELL to a commenter. Please tell me — whether you’re you’re a writer or not — what Hollywood actor you find the sexiest and most…uh, inspirational. (K) I’ll be back to pick a winner on Monday, January 25th at 9:00 pm EST!

******************************************

THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS!! The winner of HOT SPELL is Jody F. (Joder) and she has been contacted by email!

In a world of economic strife, daily bad news, high caloric favorite foods, and other unpleasant realities, I like to cling very tightly to the things that make me happy.

New Moon makes me happy. :-[  I saw it on Friday, an early matinee. The Twilight franchise is one of those things that just brings me joy for no reason I can really put my finger on. (*cough* Robert Pattinson *cough*) I don’t question it too much. I simply accept the sparkly vampires into my life with thanks and feel a smidge sorry for those who don’t get what all the fuss is about.

Adam Lambert’s CD comes out today. That also makes me happy. (8)  I wanted him to win American Idol, was a bit disappointed when he didn’t, but continued to be thrilled for his success and the buzz about his album For Your Entertainment that I will be buying sometime today. The on-purposely-campy CD cover, however, doesn’t make me that happy. But, I can deal.

You know what else makes me happy? (K)  Harlequin Blazes. 

I remember very clearly the first one I ever read. It was during my first RWA conference, Reno ’05. At the time, I’d recently been contracted for light paranormal chick lit. Being a shy newbie who’d only just joined RWA a few months prior and didn’t know ANYONE, I was overwhelmed by everything going on. I’d been to the literary signing and bought a few books, one of which was Gotta Have It by Lori Wilde. One afternoon I decided to recoup my energy, hole myself away in my hotel room away from the maddening crowd, order room service, and read a book. Out of the pile, I chose Lori’s. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book in one sitting before, but I did with this one. It was fun, it took me away from it all, and it helped recharge my batteries. The hero was seriously hawt. I loved it.

Coincidentally, I’d sat next to Brenda Chin on the plane trip there from Toronto and we chatted. I thought, what a great opportunity. If only I wrote hot!

Lo and behold, four years later, I do write hot! Or at least, I can, depending on the book and character, uh, needs. When I decided to test the waters of the spicier side of romance, I knew I wanted to have some fun — so what better line to target than Blaze?

I was thrilled when Brenda bought my book HOT SPELL, a tale about two paranormal investigators who discover an enchanted clock that reveals true (and hidden) feelings at the stroke of midnight. It just came out this month.

Now that makes me happy. Even happier because I’ve been contracted to write two more Blazes so the fun will continue!

To celebrate, and maybe make someone else happy, I’d love to give away a signed copy of HOT SPELL to a commenter. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, November 27th. Please leave your email address in the comment and tell me — what makes you happy?