APRIL
2011

Greetings From Rochelle

The sights and sounds of Spring are everywhere: baby hatchlings from a nearby bird sanctuary peeping incessantly for food, the sounds of landscaping equipment doing spring cleanup, tulips, crocus and daffodils pushing their colorful heads through the earth and those warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours are signs that I’m growing restless to emerge from a cocoon of hibernation. Spring is also a time for Easter, spring break, college tours, shopping for prom clothes and preparing for graduations.

I’ve received a quite few emails about my backlist. I will give you periodic updates in subsequent newsletters when Hideaway, Hidden Agenda, Vows, etc. will be available in an electronic format.

April’s birth flower is the sweet pea – one of my favorite flowers and the birthstone is a diamond – one my favorite precious gems. April is also a month to observe autism awareness, animal cruelty, books to brighten young minds month, library month, straw hat month and couple appreciation month. When you visit your local bookstore to buy a book for yourself, pick up one for a young reader as an unexpected gift. It is also national grilled cheese and national humor month. Who can resist a good grilled cheese – or a variation on the classic sandwich? This month’s cook corner will highlight one of my panini favorites – the Cuban sandwich.

Here I Am is currently in bookstores, and the response to the contest has been overwhelming with more 400 entries to date. The deadline for the contest is April, 30, 2011, so if you haven’t entered you still have time. Remember, only one entry per person. I haven’t had an online chat in a very long time, so look for one in the coming months. We will discuss the first two books in the Wainwright Legacy: Because of You and Here I Am.

Words to the Wise

If you can’t hold children in your arms, please hold them in your heart. –  – Mother Clara Hale

In This Issue

1) Words to the Wise
2) Cooks Corner
3) Reader Spotlight
4) Love Notes
5) Happy Birthday
6) Coming Up

Cooks Corner

In celebration of national grilled cheese month, the following is an updated grilled cheese recipe. Even as a child I didn’t like sandwiches, because I wasn’t fond of store-bought sliced bread. However, as an adult I’ve grown quite fond of paninis; it becomes more than a sandwich because I can add lots of veggies. Upcoming Cooks’ Corner will feature panini recipes that will have you drooling for more.

Happy Birthday

To all my readers born in the month of April. Below are some notable celebrities who celebrate their birthday as well.

Mother Clara Hale – 4/01
Gil Scott-Heron – 4/01
Billie Holiday – 4/07
Bill Bellamy – 4/07
Peabo Bryson – 4/13
Saundra Santiago – 4/13
Al Green – 4/13
Lela Rochon – 4/17
Kimberly Elise – 4/17
Tito Puente – 4/20
Shemar Moore – 4/20

Reader Spotlight - Michelle Wilkes

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. (Nothing too personal)

I'm a thirty-something, proud mother of a teenage son from NYC, who loves romance novels enough to have collected over five-hundred of them and still counting!

2. What is your favorite Rochelle Alers' book and why?

3. How has reading romance changed your life?

Reading romance has done wonders for my life. After a rough period, these books made me believe in True Love again. A man does not always rule and a woman can make decisions and choices on how she's treated in a relationship. I've raised the bar on my expectations. The heroines don't accept any nonsense from their heroes. And neither do I.