I’ve always loved September. It just seems so full of…possibility. The weather (at least, up here) is perfect for outdoor adventures. The leaves are turning into a beautiful mosaic of green, gold and orange. And the kids are gearing up for their next adventure – back to school!

Although I’ve been out of school for more years than I’d like to count, I still feel that same anticipation, that urge to try something new. And I couldn’t think of a better place to start than this blog. Luckily, the Blaze authors agreed with me….

Each month, the Blaze authors and I will start up a discussion about one element in the craft of writing. If you’re a romance novelist in the making, this is a great opportunity to learn a few things you might not know. And if you’re happy just reading these wonderful books, well, hopefully, you’ll gain some new insight. It’s always cool to get insider information….

I’ve decided to start with the element I consider the most important–VOICE. Author voice is the reason readers make it a point to get their hands on everything they can by an author they love. Sure, they’re looking for a good story. But more importantly, they’re looking for the way the author tells that story. It comes through in language choice, in dialogue…through the main character’s perspective.

As an editor, voice is the first thing I look for when I’m considering a submission. I’m looking for writing that grabs my attention, that immediately pulls me into the story. This is especially important in the Blaze series. After all, we want our readers to immediately jump into the heroine’s shoes, to join in on the sexual adventure with her, and to experience every sensual thrill along the way. And ultimately, we want our readers to fall as hard for the hero as our heroines do. So, how does an author pull this off? Through fantastic character development…and a voice that encourages you, the reader, to come along for the ride.

I’m going to leave this for now. I’ve asked the Blaze authors to jump in with their views over the next few days, so check often.

In the meantime, let me show you the fantastic books available this month…

First up is Lori Wilde’s first Blaze Encounters–SWEET SURRENDER. In these stories, a group of friends make a bet—a chastity bet! A summer without sex? Luckily, Blaze readers know that a plan like that doesn’t have a hope in, well, you know…

Then Wendy Etherington takes us back to Palmer’s Island, South Carolina, in HER PRIVATE TREASURE. The heroine, an FBI agent, gets more than she bargained for when she starts investigating sexy Carr Hamilton.

Karen Foley launches her new It Takes a Hero miniseries this month with HOT-BLOODED. This book is linked to PACKING HEAT, Karen’s story in the BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY anthology last July, and features another hot military man. However, in this new miniseries, the true heroes aren’t only the guys…

Then Tawny Weber brings you the Forbidden Fantasies book this month. Her heroine’s fantasy? To run off to Mexico and indulge in an anonymous fling with a hot boy toy. RIDING THE WAVES is fun, wickedly sensual and very, very evocative. Back in February, when I was working on this book, I came very close to booking my own plane ticket!

Next up is Patricia Potter’s Blaze debut with THE LAWMAN, our latest Blaze Historical, set in 1876 Colorado. What’s a girl to do when a U.S Marshal comes looking for her adoptive father? Shoot him, of course! Let’s face it, it’s definitely one way to keep a good looking man in bed….

Sarah Mayberry finishes up the month with HOT ISLAND NIGHTS, a steamy ‘opposites-attract ‘tale set in Australia. And nobody knows just how hot it can get Down Under better than Aussie native Sarah…

So now, you’ve got two things to keep you busy – an incredible month of books…and a challenge. How does an author’s voice influence the books you read? Is voice something you consciously look for? How would you describe the voices of your favorite writers? Inquiring minds want to know…

And, as always, we’re giving away a free set of the September books to one lucky reader. To enter, add the phrase ‘I really, really want the September Blaze books’ to the comment field.

Good luck. And be sure to let me know what you think of the new approach we’re taking.

Brenda Chin
Senior Editor
Harlequin Blaze

I’m so excited to have Jayne Hoogenberk, one of the amazing gals from eHarlequin here to visit with us today. Like so many of the Blaze authors, I started my writing journey on eHQ –its a fabulous place!! If you haven’t checked it out, you really need to. But first, check out Jayne’s visit
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For those readers who don’t know me, my name is Jayne Hoogenberk and I manage the online community at eHarlequin.com and help facilitate the conversations between our authors and readers in a series of spotlight discussions on books and authors in our Forums, on our Blogs and in our scheduled online chats. In fact we have over 200 authors in our social blogging network there! In addition I’m responsible for all of our social media properties on the web AND I produce a number of book trailers for selected Harlequin series and single title books. You’ll find us on pages at Shelfari, Facebook, YouTube, GoodReads, LibraryThing amongst others in addition to our Twitter account, @HarlequinBooks. As we at Harlequin like to say, ”Wherever women are.”

Harlequin has a longstanding tradition of being where women are beyond the traditional bookstore, and we recently celebrated 60 years of providing outstanding reading entertainment for women. We have a selection of FREE downloads at www.tryharlequin.com where you’ll find a taste of everything we offer including Leslie Kelly’s fabulous BLAZE title Slow Hands which earned a 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you take this opportunity to nab it, but be prepared for an unputdownable read. You may have to cancel your afternoon plans!

So you’re probably wondering what we do online to engage and connect with our readers in all these online spaces where women are? Well for one thing, consider this an early invitation to SAVE THE DATE for December 15th. That’s the date for our annual Holiday Party in our online community at eHarlequin.com. We invite as many authors as we can stuff into your computer, to raise a glass of virtual eggnog and hobnob with our readers in a series of discussions throughout the day (to accommodate the time zones of our international readers) and the highlight is a 3 hour live chat in the evening. I do hope you consider joining us for the fun, and prizes galore and to share holiday cheer with your favorite authors, and yes our BLAZE ladies will be there as always. How often do you get to chat with them in REAL time??

If you need the occasional kick in the pants to get reading after a slump or having trouble deciding which book to pull from your TO-BE-READ pile, I highly recommend our Reading Challenges. Pick one of our fun mini-challenges, countdown, theme or TBR games to gear up your reading and get you turning the pages, and while you’re at it, why not create a community profile and start reviewing the books you’ve read so you have a record of your reading adventures in our community? You just might meet some new friends and find some book recommendations you haven’t thought to try!

Have you ever tried one of our online stories? We publish weekly and daily online stories at eHarlequin.com and you can read and discuss them with the authors as each chapter is published in our companion discussions. We even have a FREE library of stories there so you can sample one from every line we publish . Our online read discussions are lots of fun and are a great way to share your thoughts on how you feel after reading each chapter and where you think the story is going and how it’s going to end. Right now we’re talking with B.J. Daniels in her discussion of A Forever Love and Wendy Warren about Daniel’s Gift, why not join us?

Check out our Forums for discussions on our Series books and Single Titles and if you have a hankering to write one of your own then you really should join the aspiring authors on our Write Stuff board. Did you know that over 50 of our Community members have sold to Harlequin and Silhouette through the years we’ve been hosting writing related discussions? We host live editor chats as well where an acquiring editor joins us to share just what exactly she/he’s looking for in the PERFECT book for their lines, so do check our schedule often. In fact this November we’ll be hosting our own Harlequin version of the popular NANOWRIMO contest where aspiring authors are challenged to write an entire novel through the month of November with encouragement and advice from our authors, so do check us out!

So please FRIEND us on Facebook to keep tabs on what we’re up to on a daily basis, and follow us on Twitter for up to the minute news and information, and if you’re a member of any of the major social networking sites I noted above please stop by and say hello and catch up with us there, and if we’ve missed one you think we should be on, by ALL means let me know. We’ll be waiting for you!

Happy Reading!
Jayne

So summer is winding to an end. All over, I see mention of kids back to school (we don’t head back till the first week of September) Kathleen blogged about it yesterday, as a matter of fact And a lot of friends are taking end of summer get-em-while-you-still-can quick vacation trips. There is always such a bittersweet feeling when summer ends. Relief since the heat and the sometimes intense expectations of vacations and entertaining are coming to an end. Maybe a little regret that a vacation or some grand plans that started the season didn’t pan out. And sometimes a few cringe-worthy oopses, from blistering sunburns to drunken beach parties (I only had one of those this summer )

Personally, I’m planning to celebrate the end of summer with the release of RIDING THE WAVES. I had a great time with this story, since it kicks off with some of my favorite things. Vacation, the beach and a forbidden fantasy. My heroine, Drucilla, finds herself giving in to her ultimate fantasy – a vacation fling with a young, sexy surf hunk. She figures its the best of all worlds. Fabulous sex and an incredible vacation memory. Since my vacation memories include photos of a sunburned me with a six foot mouse, I’ve got to admit I envy her a little

Of course, I come home from vacation with a suitcase of laundry, a camera card filled with photos waiting to be scrapbooked and a houseful of tired family who need a vacation from the vacation. Drucilla? She came home to find out her fling is now her new boss. It’s like the vacation thrill that just keeps giving!

How about you? Are you ready for summer to end or are you hanging on to the last weeks with clenched fists? Do you have fun vacation memories to preserve this year? What was your best summer memory?

Aaaand, I know this isn’t my regular blog day but I switched things up a little. Now the awesome Jayne Hoogenberk from eHarlequin will be hanging out with us on the 28th. So be sure to come back and say hi!!

Well, it’s that time of year again – Blaze’s birthday bash. We’re officially nine years old! (And we’re looking pretty good, if I do say so myself). And to get everybody in the partying mood, let me show you what we’ve got in store for you this month…

Cara Summers gets August off to a strong start with her combined Forbidden Fantasies/Encounters story, TWICE THE TEMPTATION. These two tales link to Cara’s previous books, LED INTO TEMPTATION (May) and TAKEN BEYOND TEMPTATION (June). Though the stories are a little shorter than Cara’s previous two books, they’re just as sexy. So come on, double your reading pleasure…

Next up is CLAIMED, the final book (at least, for this year) in Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Sons of Chance miniseries. This is the story we’ve all been waiting for– where tortured cowboy Jack Chance finally ends up with the woman who’s going to turn his life around. Romantic Times magazine called this book ‘one of the hottest western romances of the year’. And it is!

Rhonda Nelson continues her Men out of Uniform miniseries this month with THE RENEGADE. This one has it all – a hot romance, a slight mystery…and a great secondary character named ‘Dick’. This showcases Rhonda’s work at its most outrageous best!

Jill Shalvis gives us another American Hero in THE HEAT IS ON. Cop Jacob Madden thinks he’s seen it all. But what’s he to do when he falls hard for a free-spirited chef…and then discovers she’s got a trail of dead bodies behind her? Action-packed and hot, hot, hot!

Lisa Renee Jones is up next with HOT TARGET. And you can’t get any hotter a target than Lisa’s hero, Luke Winter. That’s why he’s got a bodyguard…who can’t keep her hands off him!

And finally, Joanne Rock finishes up our birthday month with a 2-in-1 treat. Not only does her story, DOUBLE PLAY, deliver an incredible baseball manager hero…but it’s also a Wrong Bed book! Now that’s worth getting excited about!

So that’s the month’s line-up. Pretty nice, isn’t it?

Now it wouldn’t be a birthday party without loot bags…so I’m offering a complete set of August books to 5 (FIVE!!!!!) lucky readers. All you need to do is add the phrase “Happy Birthday to my favorite series” to the comment field to enter. (Again, you’ll notice that I’ll take a compliment any way I can get it. )

Enjoy! And watch out for a special bonus, starting next month, just in time for that old ‘back to school’ feeling.

Brenda Chin
Senior Editor
Blaze

EDIT: WINNERS LISTED IN COMMENTS

I’m in Orlando, partying conference style all week – so I’m posting ahead of time and although I’ll try to get internet to check in today, it might be sketchy.

So I thought I’d use the day to play a little game

Answer as many of these questions as you’d like -for each answer, I’ll toss your name in the hat to win goodies from the conference (free books, doodahs from the goodie room, whatever I bring home).

*Name three books on your nightstand right now (if you don’t have books -first off, why not?- and secondly, go ahead and name three things instead)

*If you could ask any character you’ve ever read for advice, who would you ask and on what topic?

*What one character would you trade places with for 24 hours?

*Pick up the book you’re currently reading, turn to page 172 and share the third line on the page.

*What book in your TBR pile are you most looking forward to reading?

Hope you have a GREAT day. And if you’re in the Orlando area, stop by the RWA Literacy Signing this evening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Walt Disney World® Dolphin Resort, Pacific Exhibit Hall

Well, it’s actually conference time for a couple thousand Romance Authors as they all congregate for the Romance Writers of America national conference, held this year in Orlando Florida! There are workshops. There are awards ceremonies. There are keynote speeches and spotlights and book signings. There are parties and get-togethers and luncheons. There really is something for everyone.

This is one of the most fun, and most exhausting, events of the year for many writers. And having never attended any other type of conference, I’m not sure if that’s the norm for conference fun or not.

What it does mean, though, is that the blog will be a little on the quiet side for the next week. With most of the authors computer-less and the editors busy with appointments and giving workshops, it’s likely to be a little quiet around here. But don’t worry – we’ll be back in full blogging mode by the beginning of August and everyone will have fun stories and tales to share.

In the meantime – what’s your conference experience? If you’re a writer, do you attend the RWA conference? Readers, would you come to the literacy signing if it was nearby? And have you ever attended a conference? What’d you think?

As I’m sure most of you know, the RWA Annual Conference is coming up at the end of the month. This is a time of much excitement for romance writers and editors alike, and this year will be my first RWA conference!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to plan my time at RWA. My appointments are scheduled and I know when the main events are. It was strange and wonderful to have someone book a hotel and flight for me. Usually I’m the one booking things for others.

Thursday night is packed! I’ll be going to the American Romance authors’ dinner, the National Readers’ Choice Awards, the PASIC reception and the eHarlequin pajama party. Friday morning I do my first appointments ever—nervous, who me? Friday afternoon I will of course be attending the Spotlight on Harlequin—I hope to see you all there. Friday night is the Harlequin party, which I’m told is a total blast. I can’t wait to party with the Blaze babes! Saturday I’ll be going to our Blaze authors’ lunch, PAN, and the RITA Awards ceremony. Plus, I’ll get to spend time with three of my authors: new American Romance author Leigh Duncan, fabulous Blaze author Kira Sinclair, and brand new Blaze author Meg Maguire. Trust me, you’re going to love her first book!

Do you have any advice for me on my first RWA conference? What are your favorite events? What workshops look good to you?

I’m very much looking forward to seeing those of you I’ve been emailing and talking to on the phone over the past four years. I hope you’re all as excited as I am about Florida.

Can’t wait to see you there!
Laura

So why do I hang out with Alpha Man again? Anyone? On Saturday afternoon he talked my sorry tired ass into going to the lake for a paddleboard ride. Because I had claimed “tired”, I let him haul both paddleboards from the truck to the lagoon’s edge.

I carried the paddles.

Hey, someone had to do it.

The lagoon is shielded, protected and very very quiet waters. After about two minutes of this, Alpha Man decided that the lagoon was for little girls, and he wanted to get out onto the open waters.

Actually, he didn’t say “little girls”, he said something else that I’m pretty sure I can’t type here. Then he flashed me the coaxing smile and tried to get me to agree to leave the lagoon. Which is a little bit like leaving a bathtub for the Nile. But because I’m a sucker, I followed.

Followed.

Because Alpha Man has to be in the lead, in charge and in control. Damn Alpha-ness.

I looked across the huge lake and took a big gulp. It was like a mile and it was deep and choppy and there were big boats and I didn’t wanna. I wanted to keep going along the quiet lagoon, you know, where it was SAFE.

So not a complete jerk, Alpha Man slowed down and gave me that charming smile and the “honey you can totally do this” when really he just wanted me to hurry the hell up so he could get his adrenaline rush and thrill.

So fine. I went. We were about a quarter of a mile across, with me going ”oh god oh god oh god I’m going to die” all the way and he’s trying to be all encouraging with the “you’re doing great, your paddle is backwards, you really are doing great” and ruining the whole thing by cracking his ass up every time I dropped my paddle.

And then he made it all worse by yelling back a vague sort of “last one across owes” and we all know what he meant by “owes”, just as we all know exactly who was going to be last one across. The guy is like a foot taller and had a hundred pounds on me.

I might have snapped. I might have yelled “just once I’d like it if you were sweet and sensitive and … and BETA!”

And he blinked, all surprised to find me a tad bit out of sorts. Men. Are. Clueless.

Oh and just so we’re clear, I did win, even if to secure the win I flat out cheated and there might have been flashing involved. Point is, he had to buy me Panda Express. Although if he happens by here today, I’m just kidding. I didn’t cheat at all and I owe nothing.

Hmph. Oh! And while I have you here, I’d love to hear what you’re reading … and if you’re looking for something, please feel free to go hit the Blazes this month. I’m in the anthology Born On The Fourth Of July, and also next month with in The Heat Is On … Click here: http://jillshalvis.com/blog/2010/06/24/the-heat-is-on-2/ to read the first chapter … and here for the anthology’s first chapter: http://jillshalvis.com/blog/2010/06/18/born-on-the-fourth-of-july/

Happy Reading! And hope to see you all on my daily blog, I love the company … Best, Jill

By Hope Tarr

What would you do if you knew you had seven sexy days and nights in your very near future? We’re talking passion so scalding, so unbridled, and so primal that most mortals never know the like.
The catch: those same seven sexy days and nights are most likely going to have to last you the rest of your life. Oh, and you’re not quite twenty-one which means “the rest of your life” promises to be a very, very long time.

Lady Bea Lindsey confronts that very scenario in The Tutor my Victorian-set romance published with Harlequin’s super sexy Blaze line. At the opening of The Tutor, Bea has gotten herself engaged to a very nice but very dull gentleman.

Conventional wisdom counsels that a young woman on the cusp of twenty-one, in this case a young woman of noble birth, purse-poor dowry, and an impulsive nature, dare we say “wild streak” should settle down safely and quickly. But conventional wisdom is not always…wise. And Bea is very much a modern girl—modern in the context of the 1890’s. She may be willing to settle for a dry-as-toast husband at the dining table but when it comes to the boudoir, she is going to need a little jam.

Only a disastrous dry run of the wedding night (pun intended) has demonstrated that if she wants any pleasure in her marriage bed, she’ll have to take the lead. But first she needs to be taught. And who better to take on the role of tutor than the oh-so-sexy Ralph Sylvester, a former East London street rogue and her brother-in-law’s private secretary?

Never did Ralph imagine that the woman of his dreams, a lady born, would proposition him and on the very night her engagement to another gentleman is announced! But when Bea shows up at Ralph’s bedchamber door after midnight wearing a red velvet cape and nothing beneath, he knows she means business. Armed with a contraband copy of The Kama Sutra and nine months’ of shored up lust, he sets about tutoring her in the loving arts. It’s every man’s fantasy, until the pupil surpasses the teacher.

Along with The Tutor, I have another Scottish historical coming out this July. My Lord Jack, first published in 2002 with Berkley, is being reissued with Carina Press, Harlequin’s new exclusively digital publishing imprint, on July 12th. A Rogue’s Pleasure, my Regency-set romp, will release with Carina Press on August 16th.

Happy Summer and yes, Happy Reading,
Hope Tarr

Hope is offering a signed copy of her Scottish-set Blaze Historical, TWELVE NIGHTS to one lucky commenter today!!!

Hope Tarr is the award-winning author of thirteen historical and contemporary romance novels including THE TUTOR. “Tomorrow’s Destiny,” her first novella, will appear in a single-title Christmas anthology, A HARLEQUIN CHRISTMAS CAROL, with Betina Krahn and Jacquie D’Alessandro this November 10, 2010. Visit Hope at www.HopeTarr.com where you can read her blog and enter her regular contest.