A unique, beautifully designed journal filled with helpful tips and invaluable advice vital for every aspiring romance novelist—and every romance fan! For romance writers and readers alike, How to Write a Romance is a sleek, inventive journal that will inspire you to create love stories that stir the heart, tease the imagination, and touch the soul. Inside this handy diary, you’ll find an introduction and tip sheet compiled by the editors of Avon Books, the premiere romance publisher. Sharing their wisdom and expertise, the Avon Romance editors guide you through the basic construction of a romance novel and highlight the most common pitfalls to avoid. The pages that follow include 180 prompts touching on every aspect of romance dialogue, character development, scene description, situational entries, and more. Exercise your imagination and skill with such challenges In addition, renowned bestselling Avon authors such as Eloisa James, Beverly Jenkins, Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, Sarah MacLean, Jennifer Ryan, Lori Wilde, and more, share their own insights and offer words of encouragement, sprinkled throughout the journal in hand-lettered text. A beautiful keepsake and practical tool that embodies the essence of romance fiction, How to Write a Romance will enflame your passionate and creative spirit!

Learn to grab readers' attention when you go beyond the story beats of the romance genre by harnessing the impact of the relationship arc, character arc, conflict, key moments, and other writing techniques. Based on her experience working with dozens romance novelists over the last decade and insight from reading and studying thousands of romance novels, editor and story coach Jessica Barber has compiled the most lucrative advice for writing a well-developed, engaging novel that will have your readers begging for more. This book will teach After reading this book, you can be confident that you will have the tools to take your novel from a good book to a book that readers can't put down . With a foreword written by best-selling romance author Tara Grace Ericson.

With insight, humor, and practicality, Natalie Goldberg inspires writers and would-be writers to take the leap into writing skillfully and creatively. She offers suggestions, encouragement, and solid advice on many aspects of the writer’s craft: on writing from “first thoughts” (keep your hand moving, don’t cross out, just get it on paper), on listening (writing is ninety percent listening; the deeper you listen, the better you write), on using verbs (verbs provide the energy of the sentence), on overcoming doubts (doubt is torture; don’t listen to it)—even on choosing a restaurant in which to write.  Goldberg sees writing as a practice that helps writers comprehend the value of their lives. The advice in her book, provided in short, easy-to-read chapters with titles that reflect the author’s witty approach (“Writing Is Not a McDonald’s Hamburger,” “Man Eats Car,” “Be an Animal”), will inspire anyone who writes—or who longs to.

They say writing is rewriting. So why does the second part get such short shrift? Refuse To Be Done will guide you through every step of the novel writing process, from getting started on those first pages to the last tips for making your final draft even tighter and stronger. From lauded writer and teacher Matt Bell, Refuse to Be Done is encouraging and intensely practical, focusing always on specific rewriting tasks, techniques, and activities for every stage of the process. You won’t find bromides here about the “the writing Muse.” Instead, Bell breaks down the writing process in three sections. In the first, Bell shares a bounty of tactics, all meant to push you through the initial conception and get words on the page. The second focuses on reworking the narrative through outlining, modeling, and rewriting. The third and final section offers a layered approach to polishing through a checklist of operations, breaking the daunting project of final revisions into many small, achievable tasks. Whether you are a first time novelist or a veteran writer, you will find an abundance of strategies here to help motivate you and shake up your revision process, allowing you to approach your work, day after day and month after month, with fresh eyes and sharp new tools.

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.

Scorching-hot summer. Scorching-hot chemistry. Two teens can’t forget they’re just friends in this sweet, funny, electrifying romance from New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Nicola Yoon.   MEET AUDRE. Junior class president. Debate team captain. Unofficial student therapist. Desperately in need of a good time.   MEET BASH. Mysterious new senior. Everybody’s crush. Tall, floppy, great taste in jewelry. King of having a good time.   It’s the last day of school at Cheshire Prep, Brooklyn’s elite academy—and Audre Mercy-Moore’s life is a mess. Her dad cancelled her annual summer visit to his Malibu beach house. Now? She’s stuck in a claustrophobic apartment with her mom, stepdad, and one-year-old sister (aka the Goblin Baby).   Under these conditions, she’ll never finish writing her self-help book—ie, the key to winning over Stanford’s admissions board.   Cut to Bash Henry! Audre hires him to be her “fun consultant.” His job? To help her complete the Experience Challenge—her list of five wild dares designed to give her juicy book material. She’ll get inspo; he’ll get paid. Everybody wins.   He isn’t boyfriend material. And she’s not looking for one. Can they stay professional despite their obvious connection?  Fun Audre Mercy-Moore first appeared in the New York Times bestseller Seven Days in June and now stars in her own story!  

Few aristocratic English families of the twentieth century enjoyed the glamorous notoriety of the infamous Mitford sisters. Nancy Mitford's most famous novel, The Pursuit of Love satirizes British aristocracy in the twenties and thirties through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modelled on Mitford's own. The Radletts of Alconleigh occupy the heights of genteel eccentricity, from terrifying Lord Alconleigh (who, like Mitford's father, used to hunt his children with bloodhounds when foxes were not available), to his gentle wife, Sadie, their wayward daughter Linda, and the other six lively Radlett children. Mitford's wickedly funny prose follows these characters through misguided marriages and dramatic love affairs, as the shadow of World War II begins to close in on their rapidly vanishing world.

Two competing meteorologists are forced to find common ground in this opposites attract, When Harry Met Sally inspired romance, from New York Times bestselling author B.K. Borison. Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organization from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they’re partnered against their will to cover the snowstorm of the century, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together. Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal. If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With an undiscovered chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship. But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm? Or does what happens in the mountains, stay in the mountains?

From the “masterly” (The New York Times) Jodi McAlister, a charming new romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationship…only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized. Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position. When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It’s a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through. Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood, Abby Jimenez, and Kayla Olson, An Academic Affair brings Jodi McAlister’s “smart, scorching, and emotionally resonant” (Freya Marske, author of A Restless Truth) writing to the forefront and demonstrates her talent as one of today’s best rom-com authors.

Scorching-hot summer. Scorching-hot chemistry. Two teens can’t forget they’re just friends in this sweet, funny, electrifying romance from New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Nicola Yoon.   MEET AUDRE. Junior class president. Debate team captain. Unofficial student therapist. Desperately in need of a good time.   MEET BASH. Mysterious new senior. Everybody’s crush. Tall, floppy, great taste in jewelry. King of having a good time.   It’s the last day of school at Cheshire Prep, Brooklyn’s elite academy—and Audre Mercy-Moore’s life is a mess. Her dad cancelled her annual summer visit to his Malibu beach house. Now? She’s stuck in a claustrophobic apartment with her mom, stepdad, and one-year-old sister (aka the Goblin Baby).   Under these conditions, she’ll never finish writing her self-help book—ie, the key to winning over Stanford’s admissions board.   Cut to Bash Henry! Audre hires him to be her “fun consultant.” His job? To help her complete the Experience Challenge—her list of five wild dares designed to give her juicy book material. She’ll get inspo; he’ll get paid. Everybody wins.   He isn’t boyfriend material. And she’s not looking for one. Can they stay professional despite their obvious connection?  Fun Audre Mercy-Moore first appeared in the New York Times bestseller Seven Days in June and now stars in her own story!  

Few aristocratic English families of the twentieth century enjoyed the glamorous notoriety of the infamous Mitford sisters. Nancy Mitford's most famous novel, The Pursuit of Love satirizes British aristocracy in the twenties and thirties through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modelled on Mitford's own. The Radletts of Alconleigh occupy the heights of genteel eccentricity, from terrifying Lord Alconleigh (who, like Mitford's father, used to hunt his children with bloodhounds when foxes were not available), to his gentle wife, Sadie, their wayward daughter Linda, and the other six lively Radlett children. Mitford's wickedly funny prose follows these characters through misguided marriages and dramatic love affairs, as the shadow of World War II begins to close in on their rapidly vanishing world.

The Rules: No roaming off alone. No secrets. No bodyguard/client fraternization. No olives. This is Krysta Morton’s last job. She’s done with being a bodyguard and is ready for a real nine to five where work stays at work. But when Addison Hayes’s manager offers Krysta a ridiculous amount of money to keep the high-maintenance singer-turned-influencer safe on a cruise, Krysta can’t make herself say no. Not when the money means that she’ll be able to set her grandma up at the nicest senior living community in town. (It has a brand new pickleball court! And a juice bar!) Addison Hayes is at the top of her game. After a long and healthy career as a B-list celebrity, she’s successfully made the transition to lifestyle brands and her dream of expanding her empire into hotels and cruises is within reach. With her first branded cruise about to disembark, she’s in dire need of hired security while she curates the passenger experience and oversees the debut run of The Lion and the Lamb, her first attempt at producing a musical (and her ode to all things Twilight). With Krysta’s no-nonsense attitude, Addison is certain her newly hired bodyguard loathes her. Then a steamy shore excursion reveals that Krysta’s icy shell is hiding a simmering hunger. And if this bodyguard isn’t careful, she might start breaking her own rules…

The Rules: No roaming off alone. No secrets. No bodyguard/client fraternization. No olives. This is Krysta Morton’s last job. She’s done with being a bodyguard and is ready for a real nine to five where work stays at work. But when Addison Hayes’s manager offers Krysta a ridiculous amount of money to keep the high-maintenance singer-turned-influencer safe on a cruise, Krysta can’t make herself say no. Not when the money means that she’ll be able to set her grandma up at the nicest senior living community in town. (It has a brand new pickleball court! And a juice bar!) Addison Hayes is at the top of her game. After a long and healthy career as a B-list celebrity, she’s successfully made the transition to lifestyle brands and her dream of expanding her empire into hotels and cruises is within reach. With her first branded cruise about to disembark, she’s in dire need of hired security while she curates the passenger experience and oversees the debut run of The Lion and the Lamb, her first attempt at producing a musical (and her ode to all things Twilight). With Krysta’s no-nonsense attitude, Addison is certain her newly hired bodyguard loathes her. Then a steamy shore excursion reveals that Krysta’s icy shell is hiding a simmering hunger. And if this bodyguard isn’t careful, she might start breaking her own rules…

The "best woman" at her brother's wedding tells a little white lie in her quest to get the girl—her lifelong crush and the maid of honor—in this wildly entertaining debut novel about bad decisions and life's messiest transitions.Julia Rosenberg loves her brother. Really loves him. Enough Be the "best woman" at his wedding; leave behind her hard-won New York life, brilliant best friends, and drag brunches for Boca Raton, Florida; entertain the uptight bride-to-be and her vicious cronies; try (and fail) to dodge the hometown hookup buddy she can’t resist; and navigate the tricky dynamics with her divorced parents.She’s not that nervous. She has a supportive family that stood by her when she came out as a woman a few years ago. And it’s just one week in Florida—a week of old memories and sisterly duties that will force Julia to confront the complications that have been bubbling underneath the surface of her closest relationships. No big deal.When it turns out Kim Cameron, the gorgeous, self-assured girl that Julia crushed hard on in high school is the maid of honor, she panics. She tells a teensy little lie to give her an in—a lie that snowballs out of her control and threatens to undermine the blossoming attraction between them and the challenging relationship with her family. Using her wit, charm, and a suitcase full of couture "borrowed" from a pop star, Julia just might survive the horde of clone-like bridesmaids, go-kart racing bachelor parties, and alcohol-fueled speeches. But she won’t make it out unscathed. As best woman, she's making the worst decisions of her life.An utterly contemporary sendup of My Best Friend's Wedding and a riotous coming-of-age novel, Best Woman is rife with crackling wit and devastating poignancy and announces Rose Dommu as an exciting new voice in fiction.

The devil's daughter rows to Edinburgh in a coffin, to work as maid for the Minister of Culture, a man who lives a dual life. But the real reason she's there is to bear him and his barren wife a child, the consequences of which curse the tenement building that is their home for a hundred years. As we travel through the nine floors of the building and the next eight decades, the resident's lives entwine over the ages and in unpredictable ways. Along the way we encounter the city's most infamous Madam, a seance, a civil rights lawyer, a bone mermaid, a famous Beat poet, a notorious Edinburgh gang, a spy, the literati, artists, thinkers, strippers, the spirit world - until a cosmic agent finally exposes the true horror of the building's longest kept secret. No. 10 Luckenbooth Close hurtles the reader through personal and global history - eerily reflecting modern life today.

A charming novel for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and How to Stop Time , following a cat through his nine lives in Edinburgh, moving through the ever-changing city and its inhabitants over centuries Early morning, 1902. At 7/7 Marchmont Crescent, Eilidh the charlady tips coal into a fire grate and sets it alight. Overhearing, Grimalkin the cat ambles over to curl up against the welcome heat and lick his favorite human's hand. But this is to be his last day on earth…before he becomes the Ghost Cat. Follow Grimalkin as he witnesses the changes of the next 120 years, prowling unseen among the inhabitants of an Edinburgh tenement while unearthing some startling revelations about the mystery of existence, the unstoppable march of time and the true meaning of feline companionship.