Okay, what is worse than your child being sick the days prior to Thanksgiving? Perhaps your child being sick right when you are supposed to blog. Luckily I have a new brilliant friend (and great writer, though, sadly not for Avon) who agreed to stand in for me today. Presenting Cara Elliott!

A Hero of Our Time (with apologies to 19th century Russian novelist Mikhail Lermontov)
By Cara Elliott

Like many of you, I am a big fan of historical romance. However, much as I hate to admit it, I’m more comfortable slipping into sweatpants than a silk ballgown. It may not be a very “girl” thing to confess, but I’m a bit of a “jock.”

I grew up swatting balls on a tennis court and played on my college squash team. (Given my love of Regency England, it’s no surprise that I moved on to an esoteric game that originated in the 19th century debtors prisons of London.) The pinnacle of my athletic career came when I won the New York City Women’s Squash Championship and got to hug an immensely impressive silver trophy called the Feron’s Cup.

Yes, THAT Feron!

Much to my delight, I recently discovered that Carrie Feron and I share more than a love for romance novels. A chance comment revealed that she is one of the “racquet” Ferons, a legendary family in the world of sports, going back to her great grandfather Stephen James Feron, who was the World Champion of squash tennis. So, we’ve been having fun trading sporting memories...and found that we also share a “thing” for tennis superstar Andre Agassi. (His new book, a revealing autobiography aptly entitled OPEN, has garnered a lot of attention in the media lately because of its candid revelations about his life on and off the court.)

Okay, you are probably scratching your head over where I am going with this. After all, we are here to dish about romance, and what do Andre Agassi and romance have in common? Be patient--I’m about to explain. But first, a slight digression on the nature of heroes, a subject near and dear to our hearts.

Another confession. I have a thing for bad-boy heroes--those outwardly tough men whose devil-may-care arrogance hides a brooding, lonely, vulnerable soul. Take, for example, Eloisa James’ Leopold Dautry, the notorious Duke of Villiers. Oh, that sardonic wit, wielded with the razor sharp edge of a rapier. Oh, that air of affected indifference, intoned in that lazy drawl. Or think for a moment about Loretta Chase’s James Cordier, the hard-bitten spy who sneers at the mere notion of softer sentiment. Don’t you just itch to get your hands on one of these men and light a spark in his heart? (and, er, perhaps in a slightly lower portion of his anatomy.)

Now, back to Agassi...As Carrie and I were discussing our mutual attraction, I pointed out that it was no great mystery why we both are in love with him. It’s because he is the quintessential romantic hero. Really, I’m totally serious about this. Just think about it--here was a rakish rogue who entered Society (i.e. the tennis world) and proceeded to thumb his nose at tradition and play by his own rules. He wore pink lycra and denim when white clothing was de rigeur. He was brash, bold, and deliberately outrageous in a game that was still a tad stuffy. And, he got away with it because he was one of the crown princes of the sport.

But along the way, Agassi occasionally showed hints of endearing vulnerability hidden beneath the outward show of cocky, self-assured toughness. One began to sense that there might be a beguiling chink in his lordly armor. And, sure enough, in his new book, he admits that he was often confused, lonely, and tortured by self-doubts.

So what happened? The Right Woman (i.e. Steffi Graf, a champion tennis player in her own right) came onto the court and it was a match made in heaven. It turns out that Agassi just needed the power of true love to bring meaning and happiness to his life.

For me, Andre Agassi’s story reads like the perfect romance novel. Conflict. Suffering. Redemption...which only affirms how well authors of our genre understand the essence of real people and real human emotion.

And so, the point of my verbal spins and slices is to raise a loud cheer. HUZZAH FOR HEROES, be they made of flesh and blood or paper and ink, be they dressed in lycra and spandex or velvet and lace. They make us sigh, they make us smile, they make us swoon. And, most of all, they make our hearts sing!

There are few books that I’ve read that are more romantic than LOVE BEGINS IN WINTER by Simon Van Booy, a collection of short stories that is the equivalent of spending a weekend in Paris.

In one story, a French cellist runs into a woman who has a habit of collecting acorns. In another, a man’s narrow, repressed life is suddenly opened up by the discovery that he has a long-lost daughter living a continent away.

Since there are only five stories, I won’t reveal any more--but rest assured that they take you on a journey around the world, from Las Vegas to Rome to Ireland to Stockholm, and place becomes a character that you fall in love with.

What is the most romantic place you’ve ever been?

Romance Radio Event TODAY (11/19)!

CAPTIVE OF SIN author Anna Campbell

CAPTIVE OF SIN is about two tortured souls who, despite the odds, find a once-in-a-lifetime love.

Join us at 5 PM EST, and let's talk about love against all obstacles, alpha male issues, and the merits of good old-fashioned romance with one of everyone's favorite authors!

Listen on Romance Radio or call in LIVE (347) 826-9686.

Nine years ago, Lynne Hinton wrote a book called FRIENDSHIP CAKE that quickly became a national bestseller. It told the story of five women in a small town in North Carolina who help each other overcome life’s adversities through conversation, friendship, and plenty of good food.

Two books in the series later (HOPE SPRINGS and FOREVER FRIENDS), the ladies are back for the holiday season in CHRISTMAS CAKE.

Some things have changed for them--one has moved to New Mexico to run a women’s shelter, another finds that her cancer has returned--but other things, like their friendship, remain steadfast.

In addition to its wonderful portrayal of female friendship, what I love about this book are the cake recipes. Just reading the table of contents makes my mouth water: Ambrosia Cake, Apple Dabble Cake, Peaches and Cream Cake, Red Velvet Cake, Old-Fashioned Yellow Cake with Caramel Icing, Lemon Lavender Pound Cake...

What is your favorite cake recipe?

Where are the top female authors?

The controversy started at the end of last month, when Publishers Weekly put out their list of The Top Ten Books Of 2009--and not one female author made the list.

As everyone knows, there are more female readers than male and more female buyers of books than male buyers. It’s no coincidence that the romance genre is one of the few markets that has actually done well in this past year of economic decline.

Women are also more likely to form book clubs, make recommendations to their friends, and provide the kind of word-of-mouth that is so valuable in prolonging a book’s shelf life.

So, why are women routinely left out of the yearly Top Ten lists? Is it because of the age-old belief that books concerning “women’s issues” (i.e., family, relationships, love, romance) are somehow less important than the topics male authors might write about? Is there some kind of cultural and gender bias at work here?

Lizzie Skurnick, author of SHELF DISCOVERY, makes a good point here [HERE] that books by women are often considered to be “small” and “domestic” and books by men to be “large” and “universal,” regardless of how competently written they are.

What do you think, should critics actively work toward greater diversity on their lists? And, what books by female authors do you think should be on the list of The Top Ten books of the year?

Everyone should take a trip over to The Season Blog today. They have up an INCREDIBLE retrospective of Avon Romance covers.


Also, I think it's only appropriate to take a moment to give a gigantic THANK YOU to our Art Director, Tom, without whom our heroes and heroines would be ugly, naked, and sitting in front of a blank wall. Thank You, Tom, for never ever disappointing and making us all fans first and editors second.

What's your favorite romance cover of all time? Is it the classic Shanna with those red, red flowers? Or is it loin-cloth clad Fabio with his luscious blond locks on the old Johanna Lindsey covers?

We spent a lot of time yesterday thinking about the brave men and women who have taken their lives into their hands to protect not only Americans, but kindred souls across the globe.

People want to help in little ways--sending letters, beanie babies...even toaster pastries!...to show love and support to the members of our armed forces. We asked ourselves, "well, what can *we* do?"

Well, we know that soldiers love books and paperbacks are great diversion in war zones. So, please, comment on this post and tell us about your service man or woman. We're hoping to pick a bunch and to send boxes of books (we hear that APO addresses are easiest if we want packages to get through and we need to send to a specific person, as opposed to a battalion or unit). We're all book lovers--and firmly believe that good books help us see troubled times through.

Also, if you are interested in helping out, here are some good sites that support veterans and active servicemen and servicewomen: www.paulmalmont.com/warrior-library and www.soldiersangels.org

For your own information, here are some handy guidelines on how you could best go about sending books to soldiers.

Thanks to our fantastic armed forces for all they do!