The Freedom Trail

I'm blogging today at Petticoats and Pistols. Come and see my pictures of Boston! This is Trinity Church in Copley Square. Have you been to Boston and seen the historic sites?

Fresh Fiction Review!!

Thanks all for making Texan's Wedding-Night Wager #2 bestseller at Borders/Waldenbooks for two weeks in a row!!!

Here's the latest review from Fresh Fiction.


Texas Men Always Come with a Charm...What is it about that Country Drawl?"
Reviewed by Tonya Callihan
Posted September 21, 2009


Oh, boy! This is one of those stories you will be sorry if you don't read. I cannot believe what I read! It's fantastic. I love country men...especially Texas men. They just come off as so strong and handsome. They'll make your heart sigh with there sizziling charm and your toes curl with their passionate lovemaking. Seperation is a hard thing and it's even harder when it's something you really don't want, but you feel the other person does. Cara nor Kevin really knew how the other felt. Cara just wanted the divorce to be final so she could move on, Kevin only wanted revenge because he still wanted Cara. In the last week they spend together, emotions are toyed with, feelings are hurt, passion stirs, and both realize how much they truly love one another and how devoted they are to make this marriage work. Chralene Sands has done an amazing job taking a storyline and making it an emotional rollercoaster ride that ends with one of the best happily-ever-afters a girl could only dream of. It's a book you'll want to read over and over again. And Chralene Sands is an author you will want to read more from.

Texan's Wedding-Night Wager by Charlene Sands
Summary
No one walked away from this Texas mogul…especially not his wife! So when Cara chose to leave rather than play second fiddle to his company, Kevin plotted his revenge. Four years later, she returned, intent on finalizing their divorce. But Cara had no clue that Kevin had constructed the perfect payback plan. It’s a wager she can’t refuse. The divorce would be official...if she agreed to one last week of playing house. And nothing would be off-limits.

FREEDOM FOR WILD HORSES

FREEDOM FOR WILD HORSES



If you love horses and like to shop, here's a way you can help save a horse. It's a beautiful site you should all see, the music is lovely too.

Carol is my cousin and she's passionate about horses. A portion of all proceeds go to an amazing organization that saves wild horses.

Here's a little bit about their site:


Two friends, Carol, and Cristi decided to start a new business together that would somehow benefit America's Wild Horses. We chose a custom apparel line named FREEDOM FOR WILD HORSES.

Over the years, the two of us have had the pleasure of riding our own horses amongst the Wild Horse Herds in the canyons of Nevada. It is truly an amazing experience, but through government roundups, the Wild Horses and Burros are diminishing at rapid rates. At one time more than 2 million horses roamed wild. Now, fewer than 30,000 remain.

Carol has had the pleasure of having a Wild Mustang as a friend and companion for many years. With "Casper's" passing, we decided to start our business in his honor. Giving back to the Wild Horses is a small way of repaying him for the friendship and knowledge he gave all of us. We have chosen Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary to benefit from our efforts. Neda DeMayo is the founder of Return to Freedom and is dedicated to giving the Wild Horses back a life of freedom that would otherwise be lost.

FREEDOM FOR WILD HORSES will donate 10% of the net proceeds from the sales of our products (excluding leather) to Return to Freedom Sanctuary. To learn more about the Sanctuary, visit them at www.returntofreedom.org.

We hope that far into the future this wonderful part of our western history will still be here for everyone to enjoy.

You can wear our clothing with pride in knowing that you have helped America's Wild Horses, and we THANK YOU for helping us help them.

Sincerely,
Carol and Cristi

Who Reads Romance?

Well, if you're reading my blog today, you probably read romance novels! Right?
You are not alone. Take a look at some of the stats for romances taken straight from the Romance Writers of America website. You'll have to agree it's pretty impressive and you're in good company if you love romance!

Popularity of Romance Fiction

(source: Business of Consumer Book Publishing 2009)
Romance fiction generated $1.37 billion in sales in 2008.
7,311 new romance titles were released in 2008.
In 2008, romance was the top performing category on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists.
Romance fiction sales are estimated at $1.36 billion for 2009.
74.8 million people read at least one romance novel in 2008. (source: RWA Reader Survey)

Market Share of Romance Fiction
(source: Business of Consumer Book Publishing 2009)

Romance fiction was the largest share of the consumer market in 2008 at 13.5 percent.

Romance Market Share Compared to Other Genres
(source: Simba Information estimates)

Romance fiction: $1.37 billion in estimated revenue for 2008
Religion/inspirational: $800 million
Mystery: $668 million
Science fiction/fantasy: $551 million
Classic literary fiction: $446 million

About the Romance Genre
Romance fiction is smart, fresh and diverse. Whether you enjoy contemporary dialogue, historical settings, mystery, thrillers or any number of other themes, there's a romance novel waiting for you!

Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending.

A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around two individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.

An Emotionally-Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.

Romance novels may have any tone or style, be set in any place or time, and have varying levels of sensuality, ranging from sweet to extremely hot. These settings and distinctions of plot create specific subgenres within romance fiction. Click here to better understand the subgenres within romance.

Romance Novel Formats
There are two formats for romance fiction:

(THIS IS ME) Series or "category" romances: books issued under a common imprint/series name that are usually numbered sequentially and released at regular intervals, usually monthly, with the same number of releases each time. These books are most commonly published by Harlequin/Silhouette.

Single-title romances: longer romances released individually and not as part of a numbered series. Single-title romances may be released in hard cover, trade paperback, or mass-market paperback sizes.

Does that clarify things? Romance often takes a beating with jabs and jokes about the content, but LOVE makes the world go around and these stats prove that. When times are bad, people want to be uplifted with Happily Ever Afters and Feel Good books!

That's my job!