Contemporary Romance Cafe

Why I Write Smart, Strong Heroines with a Side of Family Drama

June 4, 2013 by ReeseRyan

As writers, 99.9% of us are also avid readers. Each of us has favorite authors whose work inspires us and in some way influences our own writing.

There are several authors I’m quite fond of. Judy Blume, Pearl Cleage, Jane Green, and Benilde Little to name a few. But my very favorite author is Jane Austen–primarily because of my deep and abiding love for Pride and Prejudice with its heroine, Elizabeth Bennet.

This month we’re discussing our favorite literary characters over at the Contemporary Romance Café. Today I’m chatting about my two favorite heroines and the impact those stories have had on the novels I write and the characters who populate them.

Grab a cup of coffee and join me for a chat over at the Contemporary Romance Café. While you’re there, don’t forget to enter to win a print copy of one the books in guest author M. Malone’s The Alexanders series.

Photo credit: Still from A&E’s miniseries Pride and Prejudice.

Talking About Inspiration Over at the Contemporary Romance Café Today

May 7, 2013 by ReeseRyan

The theme this month over at the newly launched Contemporary Romance Café is “Inspiration.” It’s been fun hearing the inspiration behind the writing and novels of fellow Carina Press authors.

Today it’s my turn to host the Café and I’m chatting about my inspiration for writing everyday heroines, setting my stories in the my Midwest hometown of Cleveland, OH, and the specific idea that prompted me to write Making the First Move, my debut novel launching this summer.

Grab a cup of coffee and join me for a chat over at the Contemporary Romance Café. While you’re there, don’t forget to enter to win the weekly Amazon Gift Card giveaway and our Grand Prize. I’m saving a space on the couch just for you.

B is for Blogging #AtoZChallenge

April 2, 2013 by ReeseRyan

Despite my tendency to blog with great irregularity, the medium definitely appeals to me. However, I needed to rethink how and why I was blogging. This led to a few changes regarding where I was blogging.

So I forced myself to let go of a blog I’d long-held, but that didn’t necessarily serve my purpose anymore. Next, I committed to building my author blog here. The final piece–participating in other blogs–was a bit more complicated.

Guest blogging is a wonderful way to connect with readers, and fellow writers, especially for a debut author, so I’ve been making plans to do that and am truly excited about the invitations I’ve received to be a guest on some wonderful blogs. But I also wanted to be part of a group author blog.

There are lots of excellent group author blogs out there. But I couldn’t find anything that seemed quite the right fit. So it occurred to me that perhaps I should start one. I posed the idea of starting a group contemporary romance blog on the Carina Press author loop and discovered that many of my fellow authors were extremely interested and ready to become founding members.

The Contemporary Romance Café will be serving up contemporary romance from sweet to sizzling. The Café launches on May 1st, and I’m thrilled to be joining my fellow authors in the venture, and to invite some of my favorite contemporary romance authors as guests of the Café.

Are you a blogger? If so, how have your blogging goals changed or been refined? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Contemporary Romance Cafe logo created by Amber Lin of Book Beautiful.