Julie James is the author of Just the Sexiest Man Alive and Practice Makes Perfect. Her third book, Something About You, comes out in March 2010.

The other day, someone posed an interesting question to me:  which five fictional characters would I invite to a dinner party, and why?  This question intrigued me so much, I thought it merited further consideration.

I enjoy throwing dinner parties.  Sure, it’s a lot of work, and sometimes going to a restaurant is more convenient, but I like the cozy, relaxed feel of entertaining in my own home.  (And I get to pick the wine.)  When planning such an event, I give some thought to the guest list—who will mix well together (and more important, who won’t), and what interesting things they bring to the table, so…

I’m often asked about research; People ask how much I do, where I find my information, if it’s hard, and if I ever find it boring. The truth is it can be a grind at times, particularly when writing about a period that’s new to me. Every genre and every book requires research. As an historical writer I may have to stop and look up minutia such as children’s games, furniture, meals, vernacular and slang, as well as the larger historical events of the day. There are times I might spend an entire afternoon researching a geographical area I end up describing in one paragraph or even one line!

I don’t think I could ever write a science fiction. While I enjoy reading it and love watching documentaries on Discovery Channel; physics,…

I wrote to Jessica Andersen, author of Skykeepers, and asked her to finish this sentence:   The first time I sat down to write… Jessica was gracious enough to finish the sentence.  Skykeepers, is the third book in her series  The Final Prophecy, and it’s just as rich, exciting, action packed and captivating as the first two. The book doesn’t release until August 4th, but today, we’re going to choose a lucky random poster to win a copy.

The first time I sat down to write a novel, I didn’t know my life had just changed.  I had always balanced my technical and creative sides, usually working in a lab and relegating my creativity to playtime (when I let myself dabble in woodcraft, painting, landscaping, sewing … pretty much whatever appealed at the…

Wow! It’s so cool to be here at RomanceNovel.TV!  This month my new book from St. Martin’s Press, EVERYWHERE SHE TURNS, is on the shelves!  This story really hits close to home for me.  The setting for the story is in Huntsville, Alabama, in the village where I live.  I, of course, changed the name so as not to offend any of my neighbors.

The seed of an idea for this story germinated last spring as my family and I moved into an old mill house (110 years old!) and started the necessary renovations.  Trust me, it was not pretty.  Many of the proud old homes had fallen into disrepair and had for years been owned by absentee landlords.  When the mill closed and was torn down more than two decades…

Writing a series in the romance genre differs from a series in any other genre. Generally a series follows the adventures of a single character and his/her companions or friends through a number of books. Think Harry Potter, Ron and Hermoine. But a romance is, by common definition, the love story of a couple which ends with their commitment to one another. Some authors continue that love story over a number of books, but that’s rare. And there’s a lot of debate over whether a romance that doesn’t end at the end of the book is truly a romance.

So then, what’s the alternative? How do you write a series of books that remain true to the romance construct? You create a world filled with living, breathing characters, then give ‘main…

Q&A with PEARL
WOLF

Q: What song do you put on when you’re driving in your car?

A: Actually, I prefer listening to Books On Tape when I’m in the car.
My absolute, hands down favorite Regency novel is SYLVESTER by Georgette Heyer.
He is handsome, wealthy, arrogant and clueless when it comes to what a woman
needs—my kind of hero. Phoebe Marlowe, the heroine, is perfect—she’s
independent, feisty, spurns him at first, which brings him up short, and finally
brings this haughty aristocrat to heel.

Q: What is your favorite Classic TV Show?

A:“As Time Goes By.” It’s a BBC sitcom rerun, which stars
my favorite actress, Dame Judi Dench. The story is about a second chance romance,
after the hero and heroine have already been married once to other people. When
they meet again, sparks fly. The dialogue is brilliant and…