Raine Balkera - Romance Author

Pages: 432 Publisher: Jove (March 1, 1994) Language: English Amazon: Buy Link Genre: Historical/America Sexual Content: 3/5 Synopsis When a high society "good girl" falls for a servant, she must find a way to make a stand for the man she loves, and defy the society in which she lives. Details Lorna is a well-bred lady whose family summers on a lake somewhere in Minnesota, and Jens is a hired kitchen helper with big dreams of building boats and owning his own boatworks. Her parents are uppity and hell-bent on running Lorna's life start to finish. They've huge plans for her to marry a dashing fella also in money, and the two are starting to make headway when Lorna starts to fancy Jens -- the kitchen helper who spirits into a dinner party with ice cream that he's tucked a note into for her father to read about how to win the regatta. Eventually, Lorna's father caves and sets Jens up in an abandoned barn, gives him carte blanche at th...

Today is National Comic Book day , and in most parts of the United States, if you visit a bookstore or outlet that sells them, you're liable to take home some freebies! It's been awhile since I last read a comic book, but that doesn't mean I don't want to anymore. Like most kids of my generation, we grew up on comics -- whether they be in the form of Sunday Funnies that we eagerly slipped out of our father's newspaper after church, or the store-bought kind we always had spare allowance change to buy. For me, it wasn't about superheros or the standard favorites and all about love. I'd be hard-pressed to give you the exact date and time of my first glimpse into one of these charming, old relics, so let's just say I was still in elementary school and leave it at that. What I can say with definite certainty is that, for me, it became the equivalent of an old Lay's potato chips slogan: you can't read just one. I poured ove...

We've discussed this in the past, and tonight I decided to rehash this touchy topic. Because a Facebook 'friend' set me off with her opinion. As trite and childish as it might sound, give me a chance to explain first, and then decide if I am wrong or right -- childish or not. She is an author, with the title Author before her name, and I met her through a game we both play on Facebook. Today, she posted something I could have overlooked, ignored, or just rolled my eyes at and moved on, but I didn't. I didn't because it was too insulting for me to do any of those things, and so I chose to respond. This author posted an article and added her personal opinion about the topic. No, big deal, right? It was what she wrote as opinion above the posted article that got to me, and it read something along these lines: that ANYONE who doesn't believe in these issues  is an idiot and needs their head examined . Harsh words coming from a person you wo...

Paperback: 432 pages Original Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (1999) Reprint edition: William Morrow Paperbacks (May 3, 2011) Language: English Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Kathleen-Gilles-Seidel/e/B001HCX6S8/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 Sexual Content: none Synopsis To their respective families, Jack Wells and Amy Legend are outsiders. A free-spirited man-of-all-trades, Jack takes life as it comes—not at all like his supremely organized mother, the admiral’s widow, and his methodical lawyer sister. Amy, a professional athlete with exquisite taste and golden beauty, has a glamorous career a world apart from her bookish older siblings and college professor father. When Jack’s mother marries Amy’s widowed father, they invite all the children to spend the summer at the Legends’ retreat in northern Minnesota. They never imagine just how well Jack and Amy are going to get along—as affection unexpectedly flares into a burning attraction that threatens to damage a...

Mass Market  Pages: 416 Publisher: Avon Release Date: October 27, 2015 Language: English ISBN-10: 0062371819 ISBN-13: 978-0062371812 Pre-Order Link:   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062371819/ref=pe_398090_149296950_em_1p_7_ti Synopsis A twist of fate . . . Devon Ravenel, London's most wickedly charming rake, has just inherited an earldom. But his powerful new rank in society comes with unwanted responsibilities . . . and more than a few surprises. His estate is saddled with debt, and the late earl's three innocent sisters are still occupying the house . . . along with Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow whose sharp wit and determination are a match for Devon's own. A clash of wills . . . Kathleen knows better than to trust a ruthless scoundrel like Devon. But the fiery attraction between them is impossible to deny—and from the first moment Devon holds her in his arms, he vows to do whatever it takes to possess her. As Ka...

It probably isn't a good idea to write a poor review about another author's work when I'm trying to make a living as one myself. Right? Yes, and no. Maybe? I've struggled with this for awhile now, and then came to the conclusion that yes, I should keep my opinion to myself if that opinion isn't going to be helpful. And no, there are times when I am more of a reader than a writer and my opinion needs to be heard, too. Maybe it is fine to voice an opinion when I am so moved to do it that it can't be helped, like honest, positive, or glowing reviews that will help generate sales for that author . . . or like today, when I stopped struggling through a Kindle novel and simply had to say what was on my mind in the form of a review -- because AS a writer, I'd like to know these opinions (good and bad) about my own work so that I can improve my craft. I won't give the author's name or the book title here because that would be mean, and I...

It probably defies logic for a romance writer such as myself to compile such a list, but I'm going to do it anyway because I read more than I write and can't help but notice a few of the less than logical aspects of our genre that tend to show up regardless of the sub-genre in this particular category. I even do a few of them in my own work, so this is just for fun, okay? From least to most illogical, they are: 10. No one (not even grandma) Watches TV, Listens to Music, or Remains Glued to their IPhone/Laptop. Not to say I want it to read out for as long and as irritatingly obnoxious as it occurs in real life, but it does occur far more frequently in real life and hardly at all in a romance novel. In every house a character enters and whomever they meet inside, the woman is either asleep or cooking - never lounging on a sofa with a bag of Lays and the television tuned in to her favorite reality series or soap opera or even the news. Music is played in a nig...

Imprint: Avon Date of Release: 07/15/2014 Pages: 480 List Price: 5.50 USD BISAC1: FICTION / Romance / Historical / General BISAC2: FICTION / Romance / General Buy Link:  http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062374189/the-holiday-present Sexual Content: 2 / 5 Synopses The Present : The love story that began the Mallory dynasty. Miracles have been known to happen in this season of peace and giving and love, as this dramatic story of a mysterious exotic gypsy that became the bride of a duke shows. Home for the Holidays : A treasured gift of love, tenderness, and ecstasy unbound. An enchanting story of a young impoverished gentlewoman and the mysterious gentleman whose heart is melted by her beauty. Review Two stories for the price of one. The First Story . . . refers to the Mallory series players and explains the head of the clan and how it was that Anastasia and Christopher Mallory came together. The beginning was a bit tedious because I h...

Project Runway Season 14, Ep. 5 | Aired Sep 03 I'll be the first to admit that, at my age, even watching this show and being a dedicated fan STILL makes me ill-equipped to form an opinion -- since Fashion has always been relegated to the select few, ages 16-25, who are dead gorgeous and can afford a majority of the haute couture being created from Paris to Tokyo. As a dedicated fan of the show, however, it sometimes behooves me to form an opinion anyhow. As artists go, I am a writer and not a fashion designer, much less a fashionista, nor the creator of anything that can be hung on a wall, set on a pedestal for all to admire, or worn with flair in any major city around the world. I watch Project Runway not simply for the entertainment value  surprise outcomes, but more for its constant, if not sometimes subtle, hints into the human psyche. This show is a terrific way for a writer to shamelessly voyeur the anticipated nuances of human nature with all of its gilded fo...