FEBRUARY
2011

Greetings From Rochelle

To all in the snowy Northeast, Midwest and South. If I’ve forgotten anyone, then please forgive me.

It's been more than six weeks since I've seen my front lawn, patio or the solar lights lining the fence separating my property from my neighbor's because of snow drifts. The landscape outside my office window looks more like the frozen Alaskan tundra than Long Island. Need I say these are the times that try men's and women's souls?

A week ago I received a mocking text from romance author Barbara Keaton asking: What's up with the snow in New York? Less than a week later Chi-Town aka The Windy City got blasted with the mother of blizzards. Did I call her to gloat? No. Did I text her to say What's up with the North Side, South Side, West Side or Downtown? No. What I did was make myself a hot toddy, raised my glass, sniggled and breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't New York - yet again.

There's something positive to being snowed-in. It forces me to write, because I don't like driving on snowy or icy roads. And, I've become even more productive, completing between 5,000 and 8,500 words a day. This translates into more original titles in the coming months and years. For those who have asked for more Hideaway reissues … they are on the production schedule. There will not be an original Hideaway Series title in 2011, but 2012 will yield a summer bumper crop in June, July and August when Nicholas Cole-Thomas and Ana and Jason Cole will take center stage in a summer wedding trilogy that promises lots of suspense, excitement and a few surprises.

The Eaton miniseries will end next spring with Sweet Southern Nights. However, I'm really excited about introducing a new family in this title. Angela Chase has five brothers whose love them and leave them exploits are legendary throughout the Bluegrass State, but only because they haven't met the women who will tame these wild stallions. The Chases of Kentucky are the personification of Southern masculine charm with just the right amount of bad boy sexiness. February is National Black History Month and Valentine's Day. But as romance readers and writers we don't need a designated month in which to celebrate what we live every day whenever we pick up a romance novel.

Until next month … don't forget to read, love and live romance.

Words to the Wise

In the coldest February, as in every other month in every other year, the best thing to hold on to in this world is each other.

– Linda Ellerbee – Move On: Adventures in the Real World.

In This Issue

Valentine's Month.

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

Cooks Corner

Each month I will feature a recipe of a dish that has appeared in one my titles. The following is from “Best Kept Secrets.” I have prepared Old Clothes many times and it is a personal favorite during the winter months. If you have a favorite recipe you like to see in the newsletter, please forward with credits. It can be your grandmother’s recipe, so list her name so we may honor her.

Happy Birthday

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

Sidney Poitier 2/20
Edna St. Vincent Millay 2/22
Edward Kennedy 2/22
George Washington 2/22
José de Martín 2/25
Elizabeth Taylor 2/27
Joanne Woodward 2/27
Ralph Nader 2/27

Reader Spotlight - Louise Brown

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

I am a wife, mother, friend and an avid reader of romance. On Aug. 4, my husband and I will have been married for 21 years. We have two daughters Andrea, 29 and Alexandria, 23. This month is my 25th anniversary with working in the government. I am honored that I was ask to participate in the newsletter. But I have to tell you, I am shy and a behind the scenes type of person who doesn't like a lot of attention …J This interview is a surprise. It almost seems like I’m a celebrity. But that’s how I feel about the authors that I read—they are the celebrities. It is such a good feeling to read a book, and then email the authors to let them know how much I enjoyed reading their book. When they actually write back it is awesome. I was blown away when that happened to me the first time. I was on cloud nine.

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

This is a tough one. I have almost all of Rochelle’s books. I love reading series or connecting books. The Hideaway Series led the way and I have enjoyed reading them all. By far my favorite is “No Compromise.” I can never get enough of this story with Captain Michael Kirkland & Jolene Walker. To have a man whose heart had been closed in with a wall around it, and then to see a woman from across the room, who in that instance can changed him, was beautiful. I was in awe of Michael. I loved the lengths and the heartache he went through with and for Jolene. The fact that he had his father ways, just made me love him even more. He was strong, confident and loving.

3. How has reading romance changed your life?

Romance has enhanced my life to the point that my husband and I have a lot more fun together. I love at the end of a book, when the couple gets married, has a baby or takes a vacation together. Reading romance takes my mind off my worries, especially things I can’t change. Reading gives me peace in between the everyday worries. There is nothing like reading a romance novel to take away your worries and maybe help solve your problem especially if the couple in the book is going through the same thing you are. When their problem is solved, sometimes yours will be too. And in the end, the author (s) may have helped someone in real life, as well as the couple in the book.