…from financial worries? If so, how, specifically, do they achieve that?

This was the opening question posed to us by a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal recently. Our response? You’re damn right they do! Well, okay, maybe we didn’t phrase it exactly that way. ;D But we did go on to say that reading romance novels is always a good idea. And in trying economic times that can prove doubly true. Not only are they an affordable form of entertainment, they celebrate and reinforce what is truly important in life: love and sharing and human connection.

For a few hours a reader can escape into an alternate reality. Make friends with characters not all that different from her, characters that are going through many of the same struggles she is, even as they overcome problems both large and small on the often times bumpy road not just to love, but that once-in-a-lifetime love. Far from the pauper-to-princess fairy tales you might have read as a child, Harlequin romance novels are escapism in its purest form that also provide a measure of levity.

And for a few precious weeks, we as the writers also live that journey through the eyes of our characters. And if we’re doing it right, we come away with the same feeling of epiphany.

Since we’re plugged into social media (okay, I’m completely addicted to Facebook and Twitter and Myspace – look for us under Tori Carrington!), I floated this question to our FB friends. These are just a few of the touching and compelling responses we received from the other side of the book:

"I’d say not just financial worries, but all worries in life can be escaped when reading a good book." Jacquelyn R. Ward, Columbus, Ohio – Paralegal who specializes in bankruptcy and other federal court cases. She adds, "I see people at their worst times in life and while trying to help them with their finances we get to talking about the things we enjoy in life… [T]he number one way [for me]to escape reality is a good book."

"I love reading a new romance novel and just escaping life as I know it for a few hours!" Kristal Gorman, Blasdell, NY – single mother, a full-time employee and a full-time nursing student

"I don’t know if I’ll have cable or Internet access next month, and I know I won’t have this house in two (moving in with in-laws), but whether it’s from my stash, the library, or one of my daughters brings it home, I know I’ll have a book to read with characters that work through their problems and end up together at the end.”Debbie Mekler, Silicon Valley, CA

"I love to read a good book. It helps me relax and who wants to watch the news when it’s all bad. Books help you when you’re low and out of sorts, if that means money problems then yes!! Books are the answer, because you always get a good ending and a ‘free’ trip."Amy Gray Cornelius, Corinth, MS – Preschool teacher

"A good romance novel can put you totally into a separate world far away from the issues that stem from today’s economy. A good romance is a stress reliever and a good story with a happy ending can put you in a really good frame of mind." Livia Holton, http://theromancereadersconnection.com/

We were astounded and humbled by the number of responses we received. And were thankful for the reminder that while reading Harlequin romance novels won’t help pay the bills, or erase the worry of an impending foreclosure, or even cure an illness, they do allow precious escape from those staggering realities…and ultimately leave you refreshed and refocused and more psychologically able to deal with them.

And, as Tony points out, a Harlequin romance novel is a vacation in a book…without the sunburn! (However, when it comes to Blaze, you may want to be careful of contact burns. ;D)

Should you be in the market for primo escapism, our two latest titles, UNBRIDLED and BRANDED, are available now.

This weekend, help us celebrate all things romantic by attending the special 60th Harlequin Anniversary Celebration hosted by Don’s Books in Kokomo, Indiana. All day Friday and Saturday, August 7th & 8th, Don’s will feature Harlequin authors Vicki Lewis Thompson, Dana Corbit, Janet Dean, Lori Foster, Blythe Gifford, Jade Lee, Loralee Lillibridge, Denise Lynn, Ramona Richards, Patricia Thayer, and, of course, us.

We’ll be there on Friday from 2:30-5:00 p.m. and 6:30-8:00 p.m. with plenty of Tony’s Famous Baklava on hand! With a little help, I might be able to convince Tony into staying over for some of Saturday’s events…

Check out the tentative schedule by going to http://www.hazeltineandgraham.com/news/harlequin_event.html

Here’s wishing you and yours a hot and meaningful August. Oh, and don’t forget to enter our monthly drawing at www.toricarrington.net. Up for grabs in August is a yummy Vanilla Milk Bath Set!

We want to hear your thoughts: Do romance novels offer you escape from financial worries? If so, how, specifically, do they achieve that?

You’d think it was the 4th of July… This time of year brings to mind the Chicago song that embraces all that is summer. The sound of mellow music. Soft laughter. Quiet conversation. The clink of ice cubes in tall glasses. The 4th of July and family bbqs. The picture is so uniquely American. Yet there is always room for a little ethnic color, isn’t there? Say, a fresh tray of baklava placed just so between the red-white-and-blue frosted cake and hotdogs. Or Greek souvlaki served alongside hamburgers and potato salad. You can find recipes for both dishes at our www.sofiemetro.com site. Just click here if you’d like to add a little Greek flavor to this very American Holiday.

This is also the time of year for kicking back between grilling sessions to indulge in a little summer reading. And boy do we have a couple of options for you there as well! This month, www.eHarlequin.com is offering up a reprint of our Code Red title TOTAL EXPOSURE. Sinclair Reid of Romance Reviews Today had this to say about the original release, “Tori Carrington writes a riveting story with potent characters and an attention grabbing storyline. TOTAL EXPOSURE is…a must read.” Click here for more info and to order the title in both book and ebook format from www.eHarlequin.com.

Wait! That’s not all. This month our August Harlequin Blaze UNBRIDLED is also available from www.eHarlequin.com. Here’s the blurb:

Shamelessly sexy. Totally irresistible…

Carter Southard is cooling his heels in jail when classy attorney Laney Cartwright strides in on her mile-long legs to spring him. Uh-oh. This naughty bad boy’s got even bigger trouble…. Because their attorney-client privilege is about to take a sizzling detour!

The sex is hot and wild—totally unbridled! But scorching the sheets is all this guy from the wrong side of the tracks has in common with an uptown girl…right?

Romantic Times gave it a 4 1/2 star review and says, “A sexy, wonderful hero, a smart, strong heroine and a terribly interesting story combine for a book readers won’t want to put down.”

Click here to read an excerpt and for ordering info.

Finally, on this sizzling 4th, we’d like to offer you a chance to be the first to enter our July on-line drawing for a Rustic Bucket Bath Set! The info is not even up on our website yet. To enter, just send an email to toricarrington2@aol.com with the word “Drawing” in the subject line. That’s it!

Here’s wishing you and yours an explosive holiday weekend! If you have a special memory you’d like to share, or an unusual recipe, we’d love to hear it…

…because they’re busy having so much fun.

Okay, I’ll own up to it: I’m a quote junkie. Along with reading a slew of horoscopes as part of my morning ritual (the first of the month is like Christmas morning all over again! Susan Miller at www.astrologyzone.com is a monthly fav, and Jonathan Cainer at www.cainer.com is the all-around go-to guy), I inhale the quotes I come across in the entertainment section of our local newspaper, and one of the horoscope sites I frequent includes two daily quotes, one inspirational, one more folksy (at least they did! I just checked www.horoscope.com to find they’ve updated their look and, lo and behold, they appear to have dropped the quotes. Wah!). 

Great sayings can help set the mood for the day…and absolutely make a blurb. Try this one on for size: Get ‘er done.

This expression is one our editor extraordinaire Brenda Chin used for the back cover blurb for our June Blaze
BRANDED. And, as usual, she nailed the tone of the story dead on.

One of our pet themes is sex v. love and battle of the sexes comes a quick second. Both are highlighted in BRANDED. Rancher Trace Armstrong (younger brother of Eric Armstrong from our January Uniformly HOT Blaze A FEW GOOD MEN) doesn’t know what hit him when crazy hot wrangler Jo Atchison targets him in her search for the ultimate orgasm…and finds it. But can great sex lead to forever love when it comes to these two headstrong characters? 

We’d love to hear what your preferred story themes are, as well as your favorite quotes! Posters automatically qualify to win a book, any book, from our 40+ backlist at day’s end. Good luck. And Happy Summer!

Our inaugural Blaze Authors Blog post. Woohoo! First of all, we’d be remiss if we didn’t say…Tawny, girl, you rock! Thank you. You know why. And kudos to everyone who helped get this endeavor off the ground. We’re honored to stand arm-in-arm with our fellow TrailBlazers in a regular public forum. And how about these digs? Hot!

As for Editor Extraordinaire Brenda Chin…what can we say that we haven’t already? You complete us.

So being our first post, we wanted to touch on a subject that links our June Blaze BRANDED (available in book and e-book format at eHarlequin.com now!) to a general comment on writing, and, well, also offer up an apology of sorts for some of the liberties we’ve taken over the years. Liberties? All right, there are a few elements in a book or two or three that stretch reality a bit, if not fall solidly in the improbable column. In this particular case, we’re referring to the fact that in BRANDED, set in south-central Texas, when our rancher hero Trace Armstrong and wrangler heroine Jo Atchison get the proverbial itch while out riding the range at sunset, they don’t wait until they get back to the ranch. Rather things get hot and heavy right there in the big, wide open. (Native Texans are cringing right about now.)

Okay, I fully admit that when we originally plotted the scene, I paused, hundreds of imaginary imported fire ants marching around and up my internal editor’s feet. Mostly because I’d been warned, strongly, to keep my feet covered during one of our latest visits to Texas because the tiny, venom-packed insects roam freely there and preclude any barefoot strolls through the grass, much less any decadent rolling around.

But, damn it, we wanted this scene! Surely we weren’t going to allow a few pesky ants to ruin the sexy moment, no matter how destructive they can be. Besides, Blaze isn’t about real life, it’s about fantasy. And in this particular scenario, fire ants didn’t exist anywhere in the world, much less in the vicinity of our characters’ compromised behinds.

Of course, anyone who’s read us should be used to our taking these liberties by now. We’re the same writers who included a full out, blazing sex scene on the back of a moving horse (A STRANGER’S TOUCH, Blaze Midnight Fantasies, May 2002).

Hmm…funny, somehow we never get called out for these indulgences…

So you be the judge: patent violation of the writer’s code of proper conduct or a clear case of creative license? Post a comment with your answer and be automatically qualified to win the copy of A FEW GOOD MEN (Blaze Jan 2009) up for
grabs! (Oh, and in case you’re interested, we’re also offering up a great Spa Gift Basket in our monthly on-line drawing at www.toricarrington.net.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

xoxo

Lori & Tony
aka Tori Carrington