***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?

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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!

****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!

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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?