Tonight’s the Night! by Roxanne St. Claire

So happy to be here today to personally invite all of you to the Forever Romance Spring Fling Book Club to celebrate the release of BAREFOOT IN THE SAND. We’re planning to give away lots of signed books and talk about sexy beach reads for summer. Join us tonight at 8:00 (eastern) on the Forever Romance FB page. www.facebook.com/foreverromance So get the kids in bed early, pour a glass of something tasty, and kick off your shoes for a good time. I’ll be there for at least an hour to talk, answer questions, and, of course, dish about romance novels.
But I won’t be alone! When Lauren invited me to participate in the book club, she suggested I invite a “hostess” to ask questions, keep the conversation going, and generally add to the fun. Fun? That would be Louisa Edwards who is not only one of my best friends, she’s also my go-to girl for a good time or a fine whine when things get tough…so I called her. But I have to be honest…Louisa took some convincing.
The conversation went a little like this:
Rocki: Liza (that’s what I call her), would you please be the hostess for the Forever Romance Spring Fling Book Club?
Louisa: Will there be there chocolate?
Rocki: Oh, absolutely. (I wanted her to say yes!)
Louisa: Okay, that meets my first level of requirements. Next, I’ll need dancing boys to feed me a bowl full of Skittles, all green Skittles removed, and I would prefer they are hot and under-dressed. The dancing boys, not the Skittles.
Rocki: (REALLY wanted her to say yes.) Done and done! I’ll get a few guys that look exactly like your latest book cover. Do you want to know what kind of questions to ask?
Louisa: Questions? I already have all the answers. I’m your RWA roommate! I know stuff, Rocki. Stuff that would definitely interest your readers. For instance, I still have the sex kitten costume pictures! Think of how many books you could sell if your readers saw you that night!
Rocki: Uh…(Starting to kind of regret asking Louisa to host. But, I know she’s great in a crowd, so I power on.) Let’s leave the sex kitten debacle out of it.
Louisa: (pouting) You’re taking all the fun out of this. Remind me why you want me to hostess, if it’s not to embarrass you with incriminating photos?

Rocki: Ummm…because you’ve been such a mentor to me as I dip my toes into the swirling waters of contemporary romance! (Okay, a little suck up-ish, but I’m getting desperate.)
Louisa: (preening) Of course! As the author of six whole books, I obviously have lots of expertise to impart to an author of…thirty novels. Wait a minute. (eyes narrowing thoughtfully) Hey, I know what we can talk about! The time you wanted to brainstorm the end of your book and we talked you into starting the entire story over again from scratch!(happy sigh) Now that was fun.
Rocki: (Panicked at the thought of my editor knowing why that manuscript came in a tad late) Starting over! That’s a great idea since BAREFOOT IN THE SAND is all about a heroine who has to start over. Let’s make sure we talk about that theme in romance novels, okay?
Louisa: If that’s what you want. You know I’ll do whatever you need! Assuming the Skittles, boys, and chocolate are on their way. Gosh, you’re lucky to have a friend like me.
Rocki: (Wondering just how lucky I really am…) Friendship! That’s another great theme to explore since the friendship between the women of Barefoot Bay is central to the book and the whole series. We can certainly talk about friendship.
Louisa: Look at you, keeping us on track! You want to move to Austin and be my mom? I’m not high maintenance at all. Really.
Rocki: (Oh, no. Not one bit.) Well, I’ve got my hands full with my own teenagers, which reminds me…the heroine in BAREFOOT IN THE SAND is a single mom. Another great topic to discuss tonight – motherhood in romance! Hey, now that I think of it, starting over, friendships, and motherhood are all woven into your latest release, HOT UNDER PRESSURE, too. We can talk about both books!
Louisa: You mean we’re going to talk about me at the book club chat? Then I’m definitely there. I’ll even waive the Skittles.
Rocki: But not the dancing boys?
Louisa: Some things are not negotiable.
Well, for better or worse, I got her! Please join Louisa and me tonight at 8:00 EST on www.facebook.com/foreverromance for what should be a lively discussion about starting over, friendships, motherhood and sex kittens, er, I mean, beach reads!

Tags: Book Club, Louisa Edwards, May 2012, Roxanne St. Claire