You will not necessarily remember me from the publisher signing in S.F., but I was there in your line, squeeing, y’know, in a genteel and practically unnoticeable fashion, and telling everyone — you too — that I had devoured DoS and found it five-star tasty.

I am so looking forward to Written and Bound. You have such beautiful titles.

Northern India and the Great Game. Oh yes. Oh my yes.
I will admit that one of my secondary characters, Adrian, owes juuuust a bit to Kipling’s Kim.

Secretly hoping Meredith has superhuman talent to be able to simultaneously write romance and her thesis.

Christine — thrilled to hear DoS made your top ten! Yep, I’m a PhD student in anthropology. I’m looking at globalization, the “new” middle class, and the service side of the information technology sector in urban India. Long story short, I’ll be hanging out at a lot of call centers and malls.

The Duke of Shadows is on my Top 10 of 2008 as well and I’m truly looking forward to your two upcoming releases in 2009. They both sound great!

Best wishes on your year long research in India. May I be so forward as to ask what you’ll be researching in India and what field your degree is in? With a full year’s research abroad, I presume you’re working toward a PhD?

Thank you so much for giving us an insight into your favourite books and all the best for the release of your next two books (and your trip to India, which is a place I really want to visit at some point

Amy, do check out Bourne! Something I didn’t remark on in the post, but was reflecting on recently, is the distinctive rhythm to her writing. Some of my favorite authors have a “rhythm” to their prose that I find very soothing and satisfying, almost like music (I’m thinking of Ivory here, and to an extent, Goodman). But Bourne’s got something totally unique going on there. The rhythm is constantly changing from sentence to sentence; it’s the last thing from restful — which works brilliantly in tandem with her action-packed plot. Really keeps you on the edge of your seat, as it were.

I’ll have to check out Collette Gale. I’m a huge fan of Gaston Leroux’s book. Read it for the first time in seventh grade. That year we had a huge firestorm in the Oakland hills, and we had to evacuate. I remember I “rescued” two books to take with me — Phantom was one of them. (Count of Monte Cristo was the other. Clearly I was a ghoulish little seventh grader!)

Alys, LOL — where chocolate is concerned, no thanks is required.

Caroyln, thanks so much! Glad you liked Duke. Do check out Goodman — I think “If His Kiss is Wicked” is a great place to start. During my glom, I also discovered and loved “A Season to be Sinful.”

M. — I know, I’m super excited to read Sherry’s book, too. The Northwest Frontier Province (and the Great Game more generally) seems like such a rich and underutilized setting for Victorian romance. I do touch on the Game in Written on Your Skin, but only tangentially. Can’t wait to see what Sherry does with it! I think it’s in safe hands with her.

Off to explore Bettie Sharpe…

I enjoyed reading about what books you’ve come to love, and I found myself in hearty agreement with you, except Jo Goodman, who I haven’t read! I must check her out.

Good luck this year.

I am a reader for life, and romance is my genre of choice.
Best line ever!