It’s my pleasure to introduce Donna Hatch, our guest blogger.  Donna writes Regency Romance and is giving us insight into the balls of that period.
Welcome to Happy Endings Donna.
Anyone who’s read Regency-set novels may have at one point asked the question: “Why does practically every Regency novel contain a ball?”
There’s a very good answer to that question and it isn’t because authors have no imagination. It’s because balls and dancing were a vital part of social life and courtship. Children at a very young age were taught to dance, even …

I love fantasy and make believe.  Life is good so I don’t need it as escapism.  I’m busy so it isn’t out of boredom.  Maybe it’s an over active imagination.  I love movies and books and when reading fiction I go for entertainment over literary correctness.   I can read right over a typo and it takes a lot for me to get out of a good story.
I’ve heard authors describe themselves as story tellers.  Not writers, story tellers.  I like that scenario.  I’m not advocating sloppy writing.  I know I …

It’s said consistency is the bug-a-boo of small minds.  If so I’m in pretty good shape.  When I first started writing the advice I heard was stick to one genre.  At least until you have a fan base and brand.   So what did I do?  The first book I wrote was a contemporary, the second a romantic suspense, the third again a contemporary and you guessed it the next one a romantic suspense.   Well in a way I am consistent.
The story I’m working on right now is a contemporary and …

For years I’ve been given a hard time over how I read a book.  I don’t read from page 1 to the end.  I start the book and as soon as I get a feel for the characters I jump to the end.  Yep, I do.  Unfortunately I do this even with mysteries and I really really try not to do it with this genre. Sometime I even make it but rarely.
A typical read for me is;
• read a few chapters, though sometime it can be a few pages
• jump to the …

2009 has been an incredible year.  In January “For Love or Money” was released.   In September “Forever Love” and in October  “This Old House:  Love Comes Home”  came out.  And, I still have another romantic suspense scheduled for this year.
Love Comes Home was my debut book (it’s a re-release) and one I just couldn’t give up on.  I fell in love with the characters from the very first.   The publisher has its heat level as Sweet which is what I had wanted it to be.  Even though there isn’t explicit …

I’ve certainly heard the term ‘Midlist’ and never gave it much thought.  If I thought about it all,  I guessed it was something to do with a back list.  Duh!!   So, and I know everyone but me knows this, but Midlist is a term used to define books published but not bestsellers.   They are the majority of published books though they are only a small fraction of total book sales.
There’s been a lot of talk about the mid list dying but how can it?  If most authors are in it, …

We all know The Golden Rule of romance is they have happy endings.  For me this is essential as a lot of modern stories and movies end leaving you wondering.  They not only don’t have a happy ending they don’t have an ending at all.
I guess we’re supposed to let our imagination take over and I like to think mine is very healthy.  Still I want closure from the author.  After that it’s my option to play around with the ending in a ‘what if’ game.  And, many times I …

I know it takes all kinds… but I’ve never understood people that would rather do maintenance (or edits) then development.  For me the thrill of seeing something come together whether it’s a computer program, a house, or a novel is the ultimate in satisfaction.  But wait there’s those that would argue that edits are an essential part of this process.  And, they’re right.  It’s all in the way you look at it.
For example if you design a dress, cut the pieces out and sew it that’s development.  What about getting …

With three books out and another scheduled for a October release, the bubble of financial independence through writing has definitely burst.   When I wrote the first book I thought that all I had to do was write a book and I’d be an instant success.  Now that had to be pretty naïve (dumb) because all I had to do was walk through a book store and library and observe all the books written by authors I’d never heard of to realize it just isn’t that easy.   But, like some of …

It’s summer 2009 and what’s hot?  I’m not going to try to repeat what’s all over the internet.  If you google you can easily pick up statistics from sales.  I’m also not going to post on the increased sales of e-books.  Again statistics back up that it’s the fastest growing area of book sales.  Instead I thought I’d share news from a speaker that graciously spoke at our chapter meeting.
Our speaker was a manager at one of our local book stores.  She said that like other businesses the current economy …