Wrapping Up the San Antonio Bravos

There are nine SA Bravo stories in all.  Six are out on bookstands.  Three more are yet to be released.

And in terms of the writing...I'm on the second-to-last book.  It seems like only yesterday I sat down to write the story outline for The Stranger and Tessa Jones.  And now I'm almost finished telling all those stories.

Yesterday, I hit the midpoint in the writing of Marriage Bravo Style, which is Elena Cabrera's story.  Elena, BTW, is the illegitimate daughter of Davis Bravo, hardheaded patriarch of this branch of the family.  Elena first appeared in A Bravo's Honor, back in July of last year, when a big family secret blew wide open, with Elena's paternity in the center of the storm.

In the books that have followed, I've charted the arc of the Bravo/Cabrera connection.  It's been quite an arc and I have loved writing it.

So strange that half the books are still to come out, and I'm already thinking ahead to the next branch of the family. 

Harlequin Expands into Turkey...

A friend sent me this link to the Harlequin Blog

Istanbul. Exotic and romantic. How cool is that?

And THE STRANGER AND TESSA JONES is there, too!

Bad Boys and Big Bikes....

Motorcycles, I mean. Harleys. Choppers, particularly.

The book I'm writing now is about the bad boy of the San Antonio Bravos, sixth-born Jericho. Jericho has had a rocky past. He is also a genius. He designs and builds custom choppers of great coolness and beauty. Like the one at left, built by Thunderstruck Custom Bikes and named Paranoid. Totally fitting name, IMO. And what, specifically, is a chopper? Well, according to the Motorcyle Biker's Dictionary, it's "A style of motorcycle that appears deceptively light, has a greater angle on the front end than usually seen, and radical styling." The term is derived from former GI's back right after WWII "chopping" factory bikes to make them faster, removing all "superfluous" parts.

I'm using Gerard Butler as my hero image. Kind of handsome and thuggish at once. But I also kind of imagine Jesse James of West Coast Chopper fame in the mix, also.

Heroine is Marnie Jones. If you've been reading my books for a while, you first met Marnie when she was a tough, angry nine-year-old who swore like a sailor in SweetBriar Summit. Since then, Marnie has been tamed. She needs to rediscover her wild side.

I think Jericho is the one to help her with that...

I haven't done a biker guy (literarilly speaking, of course!) since The Midnight Rider Takes a Bride. That came out back in 1997. So I'm thinking it's about time...

Great Review and Today Show Does Romance

Well, this is my Newsblog, so here's a little news!



Jane at Dear Author really liked The Bravo Bachelor. You can read her lovely review here. Jane doesn't fool around--or pull her punches--so I'm really pleased that she enjoyed this book.









Also, the Today Show did a nice little piece about how Romance is booming during the current recession. For those of us who have been around since the dawn of time, this is no surprise. Romance sales went through the roof back in the '80s, too, when times were rough. Because, after all, Romance is a great escape. For under ten dollars, you, too can be swept away! Coolest thing to me about the Today piece was that they interviewed the wonderful Margaret Marbury,Executive Editor of Mira, Red Dress Ink and Spice, three of Harlequin's mainstream imprints. Margaret stood in front of an amazing cover image as she spoke. Yes, that would be the cover of The Stranger and Tessa Jones. You can check that out here.

Hope you all had a lovely Easter. Ours was rainy, but cozy. We cooked and read and watched the Masters golf tournament.