And the winner is.....

Yesterday you all had a great chance to win a free copy of Return to Wayback. There were only four commenters (one here and three at Liberty States Blog), however, so I put those names in a hat and pulled out one. The winner is...

Celia Yeary!

Celia, contact me at annecarrole@aol.com with your address and I'll get a signed copy of the book out to you. Congrats!

Hook 'em with Your Best Shoot

What do authors Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Eloisa James, Rachel Gibson, Linda Lael Miller, Jennifer Crusie and Elizabeth Lowell all have in common—besides best sellers?

Great openings. But could you tell who wrote which great hook?

Check out Liberty States Fiction Writers' Blog Read Around the World and see if you can match the author to their opening paragraph—I’ve included the answers at the end of the article so you can check yourself.

And to celebrate the release of Return To Wayback today—I’m giving away a free copy of the book to one lucky person who leaves a comment today. So share your own favorite opening—or just tell which of the above author’s hook you liked best—or just say hi! Hope to see you there.

Don't you know Connor Mead? Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past and all.

This past weekend I went to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, hubby in reluctant tow. It was cute, sexy and ultimately romantic. It also posed the question of what is life without love--and romance.

Because haven't we all met this guy Connor Mead in some form or another? The player. The womanizer. The playboy. We women have a ton of ways to label him as "danger."


I knew a "Connor Mead" and he was a typically gorgeous man--who knew it. He used to run at lunch time with his shirt off, sending every warm-blooded woman to the windows as he jogged by, drool forming at the corners of our mouths.

He'd been married to a woman who looked like she had stepped out of the pages of Playboy but, as one would expect, the marriage had ended in divorce since he seemed to follow a very loose interpretation of the marriage vows. As a result, he was free to hit on anyone--and he did. Married? Older? Fifteen years younger? Everyone was fair game. And, like Connor Mead, he was clear that it was just a good time. Rumors were always flying around the office about who was his latest lady du jour.

Apparently, just like in the movie, there were enough women who were either just looking for a good time too, or thought they would be the one to change his wandering ways. Of course, no one ever did--change his wondering ways. Last I heard from a male colleague who had kept in touch with him, this Connor Mead was living alone in some resort town and hadn't changed his modus operandi one bit. Considering he must be close to retirement age, I find that interesting--and sad.

Because life without love and romance wouldn't appeal to me. Give me my happily ever-after--which, by the way, the movie delivers on even if real life may not always. And that's one of the benefits of being an author, we get to write that happily ever after. So here's wishing all the Connor Meads in this world some real romance in their life.

And ladies, if you're a fan of Texan Matthew McConaughey you'll definitely enjoy this movie.



And if you're a fan of Texas cowboys, check out Return to Wayback for a look at three hard-driving Texans, three reasons to come back and the special women who just might give them a reason to stay. Happily-ever-after guaranteed. Buy now at Amazon.com.

It's Here! It's Here!

Return to Wayback appeared on my porch today courtesy of UPS and my publisher. The first time holding a book with my story in it! Of course, I had to sit right down and read it--again, for like the tenth time. This time I relaxed and enjoyed the journey.

No one ever tells you that you'd better really love your story because you are going to be reading it over and over again. First, of course you do your own editing--for me that means I'm reading through it at least four or five or six times, reworking, revising, editing, polishing. I admit I have problems letting go (it's a little like sending your kid off to college) but finally I resist anymore fiddling.

So it is off to the publisher and then they send it back for edits. And they keep sending it back until there are no more mistakes to find--that could be three times. Then the galleys come--that's you're last time to proof--and that's usually two read-throughs minimum because you always find something.

But funny thing is--I haven't grown tired of Re-ride at the Rodeo--yet. I guess when it's your own....you do love it!

Have a great day--I'll still be floating for a while.

Return to Wayback is now available at Amazon.com or http://tinyurl.com/Return-to-Wayback-Amazon

Princeton Conference on Romance

In the Huffington Post today, Joanne Rendell posted about the conference held at Princeton University exploring the Romance Novel and American Culture. Check it out at The Huffington Post

I attended this conference, pleased to see a serious examination of the romance genre and its subgenres. Romance is a broad and encompassing category with a big tent that holds readers from all walks of life--including, as was demonstrated, serious, literary based academics. As an author of contemporary and historical western romances (and co-founder of www.lovewesternromances.com), the romance genre also encompasses sub-categories that might have difficulty finding a readership without those anticipated romantic elements that unite the genre and assures an optimistic ending.

Inspirationals, urban fantasies, sci-fi, mysteries, suspense, latin, eastern, medieval, turn-of the century, comtemporary, paranormal, world war II, regency, victorian--the list is only limited by the imagination. It is a rich tapestry of writing where the conflict and struggle inherent in finding love is played out against a varied backdrop that adds unique elements to the story. Romance encompasses not only love, but betrayal, risks, danger, hope,dreams and yes, sexual tension. All the emotions inherent in the human experience.

And as I told my husband when I first began to read romance--it brings me back to those heady days when I first discovered I was in love with him. What more could you ask of any genre?