YA News

The CW’s The Vampire Diaries finally debuted last week. While I liked it, they’ve taken liberties with the story. Elena is now not only brunette instead of blond but also a much softer version than in the initial books of L.J. Smith’s series. She’s also got a troubled younger teen brother instead of a much-younger sister, and Matt and Vicky are now brother and sister instead of classmates. And only one of Elena’s two best friends, Bonnie, appears in the TV series, and she doesn’t look anything like I pictured her. Meredith is nowhere to be found. But, having said all that, I’m willing to overlook early episodes in a series and give it time. After all, early episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were a little clunky too, and it…

Thanks so much to Marisa and the RNTV gang for having me here! To celebrate the release of my first novel Can’t Stand the Heat, I’ve got a very cool culinary-themed gift package to give away. There’s a CStH apron, a set of red rubber spatulas, and a cookbook featuring some of my recipes alongside recipes from today’s top chefs! I’m trying to get excited about the end of summer, so to enter the drawing, leave your favorite fall recipe in a comment below. Good luck!

When I tell people I write contemporary romance, I usually get a slightly surprised “Oh! Well, good for you!” kind of reaction. In some cases, this is clearly a (scandalized? titillated? intrigued?) reaction to the word “romance.”  But amongst romance readers and writers, that same…

Reviewed by Stacy Ahlgren
Publisher Signet Eclipse
4 stars

This is the third, and so far final, installment in the Black CAT books by Leslie Parrish, and I’m really hoping there will be more because I hate to see this series end.

Wyatt Blackstone and the rest of his team are devastated by the senseless death of one of their own – Lily Fletcher. Despite working on some pretty horrendous cases, Lily was a sweet young woman who knew way too much about loss. So much so that it colored her world, and affected the way she did her job. Even though she had been walking a dangerous path, there was still no reason she should have died. She was one of the good ones…

But on a bitterly cold January day, he discovers that…

Thanks for having me as a guest at RNTV!  In honor of this month’s awesome theme, I’m going to introduce some of my own secondary characters.  Both Crash Into Me and Set the Dark on Fire feature teen romance subplots.

Hurts so good

I like to write about teenagers because I love angst.  Seriously, I can’t get enough of it.  There’s nothing more cathartic than a good tearjerker.  I want to cry along with the characters, and laugh with them, too.  In a romance novel, I feel more satisfied when a boatload of heartache comes before the happily ever after.

As an awkward adolescent and a rebellious teenager, I experienced my share of angst.  This time period stands out in my mind as an intensely difficult one.  I did a lot of stupid, dangerous…

Publisher: Berkley
Reviewed by: Kate Garrabrant
3 stars

Rafe Ramsey’s brother is the Earl of Axebridge, but because his older brother hasn’t produced any children after ten years of marriage, Rafe is feeling pressure to marry and secure his succession. Although all his friends have fallen in love and are happily married, he believes love is for fools and has no interest in marriage. With a betrothal on the horizon, Rafe has one last chance to enjoy his freedom as a bachelor.

Meanwhile, Lady Cleeve believes her missing granddaughter is alive after twelve years. After her son died, she thought she was all alone in the world, until an artist who visited his family in India six years ago showed her a sketch of a father and his daughter. This man and his child…

Reviewed by: Andrea Williamson
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: August 25, 2009
4.75 stars

I’ve been sacked.  Again.

Those are words Daisy Merrick has uttered more times than she can count in her twenty-eight years, due mostly to her outspoken ways.  Mostly, but not always.  This time she is sacked because she spurned her boss’s appalling proposition.  No doubt her sister Lucy would’ve handled the situation more diplomatically, but not Daisy – “But you’re so old!”  (I love it!!)  On the way home, Daisy believes that it is fate that prompts the omnibus to halt directly in front of Marlowe Publishing, the company owned by her friend, Viscount Marlowe.  You see, Daisy has always wanted to be a published writer.  Having plenty of completed but unpublished manuscripts, she figures that this is her best chance to…