.

Whether you’re celebrating with your mom, or with your kids, or with a fabulously hot Blaze book, we wish you a wonderful Mother’s Day

Happy May, everyone!  Even though it hasn’t been too tough a winter for most of us, it’s still really nice to see things blooming.   According to Environment Canada, this summer’s going to be a hot one.  So I figure the best way to get prepared for it is by desensitizing ourselves with some sizzling Blaze books!

We start off this soon-to-be-summer month with Kate Hoffmann’s NOT JUST FRIENDS.  This Wrong Bed story is the perfect summer read…because it’s set at camp!  The super shy girl and the ultra hot guy come back to the scene of their adolescent fantasies to help rebuild their childhood camp.  But will their very adult chemistry last when the summer’s over?

Next up is Karen Foley’s Uniformly Hot! book, COMING UP FOR AIR.  The sky’s the limit (at least as far as sexual satisfaction goes) for helicopter pilots Chance and Jenna.   This is the first of two linked Uniformly Hot! books by Karen Foley, both set in Afghanistan.  Watch for NO GOING BACK in July, which features Chance’s equally irresistible twin brother, Chase.

And we go from the deserts of the Middle East to the wilds of Alaska.  Jennifer LaBrecque is back in the lineup with the latest of her Alaskan Heat tales, NORTHERN FIRES.   Sven Sorenson is ready to settle down.  All he needs to do is find the right woman.  Unfortunately, he can’t seem to keep his hands off the wrong one…

Joanne Rock is up next with the second of her Double Overtime books, HER MAN ADVANTAGE.  This hockey hero is not only hot on the ice, he’s sizzling on the silver screen.  At least that’s what filmmaker Jennifer Hunter thinks.  But will Axel Rankin ramp up the PG rating of her documentary to an X before it’s all over?

And we have a brand new miniseries this month – Flirting with Justice by Wendy Etherington.  Now, we all know that doing the right thing makes us feel good.  But these three heroines haven’t a clue just how ‘good’ things are going to get when they take the law—and a hot hero–into their own hands.  Look for SIZZLE IN THE CITY this month, BREATHLESS AT THE BEACH in July and UNDONE BY MOONLIGHT in September.

Last, but not least, Karen Kendall finishes up her All the Groom’s Men miniseries this month with BRINGING HOME A BACHELOR.  Melinda’s brother’s wedding might be over…but the honeymoon-like antics between her and sexy groomsman, Pete, are just getting started.

And there, in a nutshell, are this month’s offering.  Hot enough for you?

One of the things I love most about this time of year (besides kayaking, vacation, kayaking, reading, kayaking, hiking J) is coming up with a summer project.  And I’m really excited about this year’s goal—I’m going to learn to play the guitar.  Now, I’m not exactly a newbie when it comes to music.  I’ve played the organ since I was 9, so I know a bit about the basics (like which notes belong in which chords).  But still, I’ve always wanted to learn.  I just never made the time.  But that’s about to change.  Last week, I found a gorgeous acoustic guitar for sale, and I bought it on the spot.   So now I’m committed (or ready to be committed J).  Wish me luck.

For a chance to win one of three sets of the May Blaze books, tell us know what you’ve got planned for this summer.  And if those plans include reading every Blaze book Harlequin puts out this summer, I’ll enter you twice. J

Best of luck,

Brenda Chin
Senior Editor
Harlequin Blaze

Tis the season!  Nope, not the holiday season, and there definitely aren’t much in the way of gifts involved.  Nope, as you can probably tell from Jade’s post about the RT conference and now my posting today about the Desert Dreams conference… it’s Conference Season.  The few months out of the year that writers crawl out of their writing caves, set aside their introverted shells and Party Like It’s 1999 with other writers and BFFs that they often only see in person once a year at these conferences.

The Desert Dreams conference is in Arizona, and it’s one I’ve attended before.  Actually, I consider it my ‘lucky conference’ because it’s where I got my first hug from Vicki Lewis Thompson, went to dinner with my editor for the first time (before she was my editor) and it’s that tipping point event that came just before I sold my first book.  And, well, its really warm and comfy in Arizona *g*  So I’m doubly excited to go again this year.

Since I’m pre-writing this blog post, I’m going to figure that by Saturday when it goes live, I’ll have given the first of 3 workshops I’m doing.  Friday is The Care and Nurturing of the Critique Partner Relationship with my awesome CP, the amazingly talented Beth Andrews.  Saturday I’m doing a workshop with our very own Editor Extraordinaire, Brenda Chin titled All I Needed to Know About Writing I Learned in Category, as well as one on my own called Courting the Muse.  So I’m expecting busy times.  Which seriously inhibits my usual conference habit of ducking out of all workshops, hanging out in the bar or hotel lobby chatting and visiting.  i”m a  horrible workshop slacker, truth be told. But once I’m home, without all the distractions, I listen to the workshop recordings and lap up the information!  Someone once asked me why I even go, then, if I do all of my ‘learning’ afterward.  Because I get energized.  I’m inspired by the people, the stories, the fun.  The energy is incredible, and I get to spend time with wonderful friends that I see maybe once a year.

So how about you?  Do you ever attend functions – be they conferences or scrapbook crops or work events–and skip out on the main focus of the function?  Do you consider it slacking, or simply how you do things?  Whats the one thing you miss most about being away at an event like this (I miss my pillow)?  And whats the one thing you look forward to the most (Me?  The hugs.) 

I was recently promoted to Associate Editor, Heartwarming! I’m excited to try something new, but I’m definitely going to miss the authors I’ve been working with for more than five years.
Blaze authors are truly the most hilarious and fun-loving group you can imagine, and as I’m sure you know, they’re also very talented writers.

I remember reading my first Blaze as a proofreader—there were many points where I felt my face flame and I couldn’t help wondering if anyone could see my computer screen. Of course, the other proofreaders had probably encountered plenty of sex scenes by then….

Since those early days, my vocabulary has expanded dramatically, I’ve acquired a perpetually dirty mind, and reading about sex is all in a day’s work. But I’m still captured by the compelling stories and characters.

Blaze characters are modern, fun and interesting. The heroines are real enough that they could be your best friends. And the heroes…well, they’re drool-worthy for sure!

Luckily, I won’t have to go cold turkey with the sexy reads—I get to keep working with Kira Sinclair and Debbi Rawlins. Yay! And I’ll definitely be crashing Blaze parties at future RWA conferences. With Blaze authors, you can count on laughing and dancing all night—I wouldn’t miss that for anything!

Farewell, Blaze Babes. It’s been fabulous! XO

This is going to be a super short post because the storm is brewing big time outside my window. Usually by mid-April, we’re hitting the warm, smooth weather here in N. California. But this year (and last, actually – maybe usually isn’t the right term anymore LOL) we’ve had a lot of rain – and tonight, thunder and lightening. I’m typing with about 215 lbs of dogs on my feet (all three are trying to crawl into my lap) and a kid doing the freak-out dance of worry, wondering if all her electronic toys are charged enough to withstand a possible power outage. Can you tell thunder and lightening are a rare thing around our house?

I’m not as nervous as my dogs about storms. Nor am I as freaked about preparing as my kid. In a way, I really enjoy the power and elemental beauty of the lightening dancing across the sky (I like it better when the dogs hide under the bed instead of my lap, though). I’m a little irked at having to shut down my computer because I do have a lot of writing to do, but don’ think Mother Nature is as worried about my deadline as I am So I guess instead of writing this evening, I’ll be soothing puppies, explaining the effects of hot and cold not sharing the sky well, and watching the show through the back windows.

So what’s your storm comfort zone? Are you totally blase about Mother Nature’s moods? Or do you worry when the weather shifts (btw, if it was snowing, I’d be worrying up my own storm. So my lack of freaking is limited). How’s the weather where you are right now? Is anyone in shorts yet?

Happy April, everyone!

And before you ask, my shoutline was not an April Fool’s joke.  :)  We’ve got new covers!  It seems the package we used for our 10th Anniversary books was so successful–and sold so well–that the powers that be decided that we should try it again.  So, from April on, look for those big beautiful covers you saw last August.

Here are the first six out of the gate…

We’ve got our second Bedtime Stories installment this year with BLAZING BEDTIME STORIES, VOLUME VI, featuring stories by Tori Carrington and Kate Hoffmann.  Trust me, after reading this book, you’ll never consider The Little Mermaid or Hansel and Gretel to be kids’ stuff again.  Heck, I might even leave my GPS at home next time I wander out in the woods…

Up here, hockey season is reaching the ‘do or die’ point.  But if you’re not a fan of those white-knuckle games, pick up the first of Joanne Rock’s Double Overtime duet, ONE MAN RUSH.  Joanne will show you the best part of hockey – the hot players.  Don’t miss HER MAN ADVANTAGE next month.

I was a huge hockey fan when I was a kid.  I even collected (and still have) a load of hockey cards.  Nowadays, girls are collecting other kinds of cards, though…  And after reading Jo Leigh’s miniseries, It’s Trading Men!, who can blame them?  Look for the last book in this wonderful series, WANT ME, this month.

Isabel Sharpe is up next with the first book in her own new miniseries.  Think Friends with a lot more sex!  That’s Friends with Benefits, Isabel’s latest sizzling urban trilogy.  The debut book, JUST ONE KISS, hits the stands today.  (P.S.  The guys are hotter than Chandler and Ross.)

Kathy Lyons has the Forbidden Fantasy book this month with NIGHT AFTER NIGHT…  We all have the odd sensual dream now and then, but Kathy’s heroine is in for a surprise – she’s sharing her supersexy dreams with the hot Marine next door.  And it isn’t long before they turn dreams into reality.  Hot, hot, hot!

Then Kira Sinclair finishes up the month with her final Island Nights book, RUB IT IN.  Now that the weather is turning, summer doesn’t seem so far away.  But I’d like to thank Kira for keeping us going, letting us indulge in tropical beaches and sexy island escapades while the winter wore itself out.  It was much appreciated.

There’s the month–and the fantastic new covers!  For a chance to win one of three sets of April books, let us know what you think about our new look.  And if you tell us the best April Fool’s prank you ever played, your name will be entered twice!

Good luck!

Brenda Chin
Senior Editor
Harlequin Blaze

Last week, my daughter and I curled up to enjoy one of our favorite movies, The Princes Bride. I had to laugh, because there are points in that movie that I’m mouthing the words along with the characters. Are there movies you’ve watched so often that you have the lines memorized? Rocky Horror Picture Show is another I’ve got memorized, but that’s not so much romantic, nor is it fun without toast *g*. Quite often, those favorite movie lines became a part of the pop culture lexicon -or in my SIL’s case, every day conversation So I thought it’d be fun to make a list of some favorite romantic movie lines, and see how many people can identify.

Here you go…

1. “I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.  I choose a mortal life.” ARWEN, LORD OF THE RINGS
2.  ”We’ll always have Paris.” RICK, CASABLANCA
3. “There are only four questions of value in life.  What is sacred?  Of what is the spirit made of?  What is worth living for?  What is worth dying for?  The answer to each is the same.  Only love.” DON JUAN, DON JUAN DEMARCO
4. “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” HARRY, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
5. “But soft; what light through yonder window breaks? It is my lady! O, it is my love. O that she knew she were.” ROMEO, ROMEO AND JULIET
6. “Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a little while.” WESTLY, THE PRINCESS BRIDE
7. “I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you” BABY, DIRTY DANCING
8. “Listen to me, mister. You’re my knight in shining armor. Don’t forget it.” ETHEL, ON GOLDEN POND
9. “You had me at hello.” DOROTHY, JERRY MAGUIRE
10. “I promise to love you every moment of forever.” EDWARD, ECLIPSE

Do you know who said it, and what movie it’s from? And how about your own favorite romantic movie lines? Did I list any? Do you have others you want to share?

It’s been a crazy winter, hasn’t it?  I’ve never seen so little snow in my neck of the woods.   But there’s no doubt that spring is on its way early.  The Canada geese are going crazy (they get up on top of buildings near the office and honk their heads off .  Of course, that’s because they’re geese, not because they’re Canadian ), and animals that should be hibernating are already out in droves (yes, I’m talking skunks!).   Still, I’m sure we’ll get a few more cold days before the winter is officially over.  And what better way to spend those wet, dreary spring days than snuggling up with a sizzling Blaze book?

We’ve definitely got some hot ones for you this month!  Check out the line-up:

Jill Shalvis starts things off with a bang in TIME OUT.   You know how they say you can’t go home again?  Jill’s hero, a former hockey star, now an NHL coach, finds this out the hard way.  He’s come home with a few players to rebuild after a series of wildfires.  But sparks fly fast when he finds himself face-to-face (and lips-to-lips) with his suddenly sexy childhood nemesis.

Jillian Burns is up next with the Uniformly Hot! title this month, ONCE A HERO…    This military hero is in desperate need of some R& R.  You’d think he’d find it in beautiful Hawaii.  Only once he meets the heroine, relaxing is the last thing on his mind.

Jo Leigh continues her It’s Trading Men miniseries this month with HAVE ME (and when you get a look at the hot guy on this cover, you’ll take him up on his offer!!!).   This New York cop guarantees a girl a good time.  But will it be a long time?

Kira Sinclair is also going strong with TAKE IT DOWN, the second book in her Island Heat miniseries.    Kira’s heroine suddenly finds herself in hot water (and with a very HOT guy) when she tries to reclaim– okay, steal– a painting that was stolen from her family.  Who says crime doesn’t pay?

And, not to be outdone, Karen Kendall  has a second book this month too!  Check out BLAME IT ON THE BACHELOR, part of the All the Groomsmen miniseries.  Who knew a girl could find a guy at a rehearsal dinner?  But that’s where Kylie finds gorgeous Devon.  And to think, all these years I’ve thought the only choices were chicken or fish…

Finally, Cathy Yardley’s The Player’s Club series finishes up this month with THE PLAYER’S CLUB: FINN.  Finn Macalister loves living on the edge, but he goes a little too far when he hooks up with legal counsel Diana Song.   For all intensive purposes, she’s the enemy.  And he still can’t keep his hands off her…

The month is looking pretty good, isn’t it?  I can feel the heat already…

Although we don’t have any Pet Project action this month—at least, none in the books—I’d like to ask you all to check out the animal shelters in your area, and do what you can to make things a little easier for them right now.  I know from experience that spring is a shelter’s busiest time of year, what with litters of kittens being born, baby birds falling out of nests, and bunnies being  abandoned by people who really didn’t want a rabbit for Easter.   The animals can use all the help they can get, and it definitely puts a ‘spring’ in your step when you’re the one to give it.

So, that’s the month.  For a chance to win one of three sets of the March books, tell us what spring means to you.

Happy Reading,

Brenda Chin
Senior Editor
Harlequin Blaze

First off – a belated Happy Birthday to Jillian :-)  I loved her message of hope, and what a wonderful inspiration that is.  And a big whoohooo for us Pisces gals! Because while I don’t figure today’s post will be inspiring in any way *g* I do want to celebrate my birthday with you all, too! 

Or, as my children like to call it, my yearly reign as Queen for the Day.

I love being Queen for the Day.  I get to sleep in.  I get to do nothing or anything or everything.  I can have a facial or massage, or go shopping or curl up on the couch and watch movies in my jammies until midnight.  My husband and oldest daughter take the day off work, the youngest has a modified school day and we spend the entire day together doing whatever I want (now, in all fairness, they get their own majestic day on their birthday! I’ll admit, I’m not really looking forward to April and a day at the shooting range, but fair is fair.)   Queendom doesn’t come with omnipotent powers, unfortunately.  I can’t wish up a fortune or wish away a decade of my age (but how cool would that be?)  I have to respect the law of the land, of course.  And no matter how hard I wish or wave my queenly sceptor (or hairbrush, whatever), I haven’t managed to manifest Johnny Depp in person. But I’ve spent many a’year with with the next best thing (refer back to the couch and jammies scenario *g*).

Despite the wonderful power conferred by my queenly status, my plans for the day are actually pretty mellow.  Then again, given the craziness of life, mellow is a major treat.  I have a facial appointment, and am planning a trip to my favorite place – the bookstore! Lots of fun and I get to wear my favorite boots (another important treat to being Queen of the Day, since I don’t actually get a crown, darnit).  Lunch out and a long walk with the dogs, and a big dinner with the entire family. Hubby is barbequing, and he ordered a decadent chocolate ice cream cake to hold all of the candles.  I picked ice cream cake this year because while I like it enough to enjoy a celebrational piece,  its not my favorite so I won’t be tempted to eat more.  I’ll wind up my reign with a cuddle session with my girls while we watch something animated.  I haven’t quite figured out yet if I want to do Tangled or Beauty and the Beast.

If you could be Queen for the Day, what would you do?  And what would your royal meal and dessert consist of? 

Wishing you a wonderful day!