Admittedly, I am always the one whose ears perk up when the word “party” is mentioned. I’m not so fond, as in I HATE, a huge annonymous soire but give me a group of good friends getting together to celebrate and I’m all over it. (H)

So, I had this blog planned around Christmas trees — as in real vs. artificial trees. The bottom line is that I’ve never had an artificial tree. Most of the people I know have artifical trees — nuthin’ wrong with that. I’m just a hold-out. Hey, I figure someone’s got to keep the tree farmers in business. I like me a real tree — and yes, I do recycle it to the mulch pile afterwards.

Anywho, I had this blog planned but then something truly exciting and party-worthy happened — Romantic Times announced their nominees for Best Blaze of 2009!!! Hel-lo. Being the Blaze blog, how could we possibly bypass this opportunity to celebrate the nominees and party down?

So, the champagne fountain is flowing, the martini bar is open and chocolate-dipped fruit is available to all. Pick your toast of choice and join me in saluting the RT nominated Blaze Babes (y’all do us proud!):

A LONG, HARD RIDE
Alison Kent (Mar.)

MAKE ME YOURS
Betina Krahn (Jul.)

SHE’S GOT IT BAD
Sarah Mayberry (Apr.)

LETTERS FROM HOME
Rhonda Nelson (Jun.)

HOT UNDER PRESSURE
Kathleen O’Reilly (Aug.)

And a special toast to Blaze Babe Leslie Kelly for her RT Lifetime Achievement Nomination.

So, join me in the party and in offering congratulations! (And hey, I’m still interested in whether you do a real tree or not )

It’s a lot of work being a Blaze Babe. I mean, all writers have to work hard at their craft and possess the persistence and determination of an NFL lineman to sell their books. But beyond that core commitment to writing, the Blaze authors face some unique challenges.

1) We can never say “Not tonight honey, I have a headache.”

There comes a time in every romance writer’s life when she doesn’t feel like writing a love scene. Maybe her kids are ill and writing a love scene is the last thing on her mind. Or maybe she just had a fight with her significant other and there’s a bit of anger projected onto her fictional hero. But when you’re a Blaze author, writing a fade-to-black love scene simply isn’t an option. You’ve got to be ready to sizzle at all times.

2) We’re the resident sex experts.

Now at first, this is kind of fun. When you become a Blaze author, your friends and family all try to hide their surprise that you write “those books”—the ones with the sexy-as-hell covers your mother doesn’t admit she’s ever read. But eventually, being the local sexpert will land you in embarrassing situations. Your newspaper boy winks at you even though he’s barely reached puberty. Your neighbor reveals an acrobatic event in her bedroom the night before and offers more details in case you’d like some ideas for your next book. Men older than your father will guffaw with lecherous glee to learn what you write and ask if you want any pointers. Umm… no.

3) We’re the bad girls.

While the men in a Blaze author’s life are busy suggesting they’d be happy to supply inspiration for future projects, there is another population of friends and family who can be less enthusiastic. Non-romance reading buds steer their impressionable children away from our bookcases full of splashy covers. Quasi-helpful siblings read our books while hiding them behind copies of National Geographic. A few utterly non-helpful friends hide our autographed labors of love all together, unwilling to admit they like racy romance.

Still, I wouldn’t trade being a Blaze author for the world. A Psychology Today study assures us that readers of romance make love with their partners 74% more often than non-romance readers. So I’d like to think I’ve had a hand in making the world a happier place through my stories. And maybe I’m deluding myself, but I hope even those friends who are hiding my book covers are kicking their love lives up a notch the night after a sexy Blaze read.

So razz me all you want. Any way you look at it… you’re welcome. (L)

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Whether you’re a reader or a writer of hot romance, I’ll bet there are people in your life who give you a hard time about liking “those books.” What’s your response?