Since we've been up and running here for a while, I thought it was time we started an intro thread for the folks who're here regularly to stop in and tell us about themselves.

I'll start. I'm Elizabeth, the Romance Novels Host. I've been hosting the Romance Novels site here at BellaOnline since the initial start-up of the site back in 1999, and have stayed on throughout the various incarnations and owners. I've been reading romance novels forever now, and have added to my auto-buy list over the years so now I probably have a couple dozen auto-buy authors in the genre. I have also been writing romance novels for quite a long time, with an eye toward selling. I've written contemporary, both series length and single title length, paranormal and erotic. I'm doing the agent query game and plan to have some mss. out with editors again this fall.

My reading is mostly in the romance genre, though I have been a huge Stephen King fan for years, and have a handful of authors outside of romance that I read regularly. In romance, I will give most anything a shot once. But I'm not a fan of the inspirational stories--just not my cup of tea--and I'm sick of vampires and demons. I'd love to see some good time travels again, and I wish Diana Gabaldon would write that last Jamie and Claire story and let Lord John wait until later.

I usually read very quickly, so can read a book or so a day, depending on the book length. That's made my book room fill and overflow in a rather short period of time. lol

In 'real life', offline that is, I work in a bookstore, which serves to support my reading habit more than actually earning me money.

And that's probably more than enough for now.

Hi!
I'm Chel.
I lurk. I know that's bad.
But here I am.
I'm also the Pop Music and MP3/iTunes Editor here at BellaOnline.com.

Hi, I'm Stacy and I used to love romance novels! Now that I have 3 small children, my reading time is more limited and is mainly things like Winnie the Pooh.

Still, I do usually have a book by my bed for about 30 minutes of Me time before I go to sleep and I usually read Sandra Brown or Nora Roberts. They can always be counted on to get my mind off the busy day.

I have a degree in education and was a kindergarten teacher before I had the kids, now I home school them.

Just a bump to keep the thread current.

Hello! My name is Deb, and I live in south central Kansas, US. Unfortunately, I have never actually met Dorothy or Toto, for you "Wizard of Oz" fans. I have been dangerously close to meeting a few tornadoes, though. They are very real in KS. I am a book-a-holic, bibliophile, whatever term you prefer. I am looking forward to reading posts about books read! I'm glad to be here.

I'm bumping this one, since I see we've got some new posters. :-) Welcome!

Giving this one a nudge for the new year as well. :-)

My love affair with reading started early when my summer vacations were spent trekking back and forth to the library. Then it was to read every book about horses I could find, and then I grew older and discovered romance!

I am married to a very handsome man named Ian-Michael who thoroughly understands I am brilliant, witty and must be obeyed at all times. Life is good.

BrendaK

And a little bump for the new folks. <g>

Hey all,

I am Amanda, i love to read, mostly romance, and i adore paranormals! My fav. is currently Kresley Cole. I love to talk about romance, and other things of corse. i like to meet new people.... Books i've read, etc. i do reviews etc. on myspace.com i dedicated it to all writers, so if ya'll have a fav. or want to do a review etc. just let me know and i'll add it.

you can check it out here.
BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Just bumping this one up for the newer folks. :-)

Hey all,

I am emily, i love to read, mostly romance,

Hi everyone,

I'm Verdi. I've been reading romance novels since I was a teenager. I've been writing one since my mid twenties and it's finally being published. This isn't a promo op., honestly. I just wanted to say hi to everyone. I'm new to Bella, but I've been poking around some of the forums.

Hello. I'm Angela Steed, author of 1080 Kiss and The Sea's Embrace. I found BellaOnline by searching how to remove the mud stains from the seats of my car (detail). I got my answer and thought I'd drop in and introduce myself to this topic. After all, I am a romance book junkie. =)

Hi Angela, welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy your stay!
Rosie

Hi, I'm Karen, and I have a spicy/erotic romance e-book called Legal Edentity published with Phaze Books. I'm a FORMER avid reader of romance, former only because since getting married and having a kid, I've had NO time to do pleasure reading! My favorite romance author list is long, but some writers I still love and re-read in those odd moments I get are Alexandra Sellers (especially her old SIMs), Laura Kinsale, Jayne Krentz, and Leigh Michaels. As a stay-at-home mom, I'm now spending time working from home doing writing as much as I can. Junior occupies a big chunk of my time.

I'm glad to be here and hope to get more time to come to the boards...knock on a stack of diapers!

And the link in my signature BTW is an article I wrote on how to write a romance novel...which doesn't really capture the full gory difficulty of it, but which I hope conveys that they're not easy to write, darn it, no matter what people think.

Karen / Nerd Writer Mom
BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Welcome, Karen!

I will admit that I used to be a book snob. I have said, "I don't read :sniff: romance." Yeah, well, things change. My sister gave me Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. I went to get the sequel and found it in the romance section! I was horrified but, as I poked around, I found some cool things! I'm not likely to be a fan of the old-school style Harlequin (but not for snobby reasons, just not the kind of story I like) but it turns out they have Red Dress Ink and there are books I've liked there. Then, I've been reading paranormal/fantasy that are also sometimes categorized as romance such as Laurell K. Hamilton, Kelley Armstrong and others. Well. Now, here I am. A romance reader!

Welcome.

>>Then, I've been reading paranormal/fantasy that are also sometimes categorized as romance<<

As you'll probably discover in your reading here, there are plenty of books that have some romance in them that aren't categorized as romances. <g> That doesn't make them bad books, just not romances. I have plenty of customers at the bookstore where I work who read both the romances and the fantasy novels, and hey, none of these authors can keep up with most of our reading habits, so people should read what they like. They just don't get to reclassify it from wherever the publishers put it. lol

I've also been reading a boat load of mysteries ... there are series upon series and I have no idea how a person could read them all! It's nice to find a forum all about books! I'll be back to see what you're up to.

What I've been reading in between baby feedings is science fiction...I read Catharine Asaro years ago, but these days I'm reading golden age science fiction short stories...stuff published in the 1930's-1950's. Not the best writing perhaps, but the stories were awesome. And they're SHORT.

Karen
BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

[quote=nerdwritermom]What I've been reading in between baby feedings is science fiction...I read Catharine Asaro years ago, but these days I'm reading golden age science fiction short stories...stuff published in the 1930's-1950's. Not the best writing perhaps, but the stories were awesome. And they're SHORT.

Karen
BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

No, I never did, nor had I heard of them! I find it hard to find fantasy I'm crazy about. I'm a fan of Connie Willis--To Say Nothing of the Dog was fabulous, and had a nice romance to boot--Diana Wynne Jones (she has many wonderful romance subplots), and Barry Hughart--no romance, just wonderful writing.

Thank you! I'll put 'em on the list to try 'em.

Karen
Nerd Writer Mom Blog
BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

You're welcome! I hope you like them!

Hello Everybody! My name is Brooke and I have been reading romances since I was twelve. Like you I love the happy ending that comes with every book. My favorite type of romance book is the castle period romances. I love dukes, lords, kings, etc. :P Some other things I do is: Roleplay D&amp;D with my husband and friends and listen to a lot of music. I watch old, horrible horror movies and read comics. Of course I did none of these things until I met my husband. Haha.

Hi all I'm Kimba. I'm very new to this. In fact, this is my first time on a forum so please bear with me. I live in East Tennessee and would read 24/7 if I could. I read anything and everything, i.e., Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Joy Fielding, Julie Garwood, Heather Graham, Elizabeth Lowell, John Saul, Jeffrey Deaver, and John Sanford, just to list a few. However, this last year I have been getting into Romantica and I love it. I'm constanting looking for new authors. My TBR pile is increasing everyday and has finally spilled out of my closet onto the floor. I would love to talk to others with same reading interests as well as new ones to expand my world. Looking forward to this new endeavor, Kimba

Hi I'm Kathy I live in Florida. I'm so new here I just want to say hello, let you know I'm friendly and I'll be reading and posting as soon as I feel like I know the proper etiquette. I am an author of romance novels set in the Vietnam (hippie) Era. Smiles, Kathy

Welcome, Kathy! Enjoy your visit.

Hi i am Rogger. I am new in this forum. Actually to read Romantic novel is my hobby. Before sleep i like to read Romantic novels. Thanks to create such a beautiful thread.

My name is April Dawn. I am an aspiring historical romance novelist. I have several novels in the works, as well as two completed ones.

Welcome to the forum!

My name is Steven, I've been a journalist/artist for many years. I'm new to the Romance arena and have begun a True Life story that is so heart warming and twisted that it couldn't even be made up to happen this way. A few preview chapters are at my website Exclusive preview chapters are at , more intense preview chapters are by request only. Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy seeing it from a mans perspective.

Hello Ladies, my name is Michelle and im 21 years old. I have been married to my Prince Charming for 2 years on the 29th of August. we have 2 children together. ages 7 and 3. I have been reading romance novel since the age of 13-14 years old. I am looking to meet new people and talk to ladies that have the same interests as me. If you would like to chat sometime please feel free to pm me or leave me a comment. *HUGS* Much Love and Respect, Michelle

Welcome, Michelle!

Who are some of your fave romance authors?

my favorite Authors are Connie Mason and Cassie Edwards. I absolutely LOVE them. LOL Thanks for the warm welcome

Hi Everyone,

My name is Damali A. Henry and I've recently self published my first novel "TAUNTED By Choice...A Jamaican Saga of Living on the Edge". It has been a fantastic literary journey thus far, but I wanted to connect with other readers/authors to keep the energy alive; hence I'm here now.

Does anyone have any pointers for me? I welcome your thoughts!
Cheers!

My name is Jennifer Lawson Zepeda. I write romantic suspense like my novel, Anastasia and the Cuban - now available for pre-order at Siren Bookstrand. I love a good romance with a literary quality to it set in an unusual backdrop; and that is also what I try to write. I live in El Salvador, so it is fairly easy for me to write about this unusual place. I am a U.S. born citizen though. My husband is Salvadoran and if you want to read why we live here, then you can Google my name and see what type of human injustice we encountered and where it took us. I also have a personal blog about our ongoing situation at Blogspot. I hope to learn more about each of you! Hugs, Jennifer

Hi everyone. I'm Delilah. I love romance novels, been reading them ever since I caught my first glimpse of the cover of a bodice ripper in the library. I could go through five books per week, well until I had children. I'm also an author, so thankfully I get to spend time creating my own stories. I can't wait to talk about all the fabulous book out there with all of you. Some of my favorite authors include Kathleen Woodiwiss, Diana Palmer and Jill Barnett :-)

Welcome, Delilah!

Thank You!!!

Hi, my name is Jaycie and I've been reading romance novels for 10 years. I love contemporary and historicals. I have two children, a boy and girl, and I'm a stay at home mom. J

Hi,
I'm a proudly Independent Author of Dark Erotic Romance who just opened up her own small publishing & book production company. Married 27 years (yes, to the same man) 2 grown daughters.

You can check me out further

Hello! I'm Tammy. I love reading books and always make time for it.

Hi, Tammy, and welcome to the forum! What sort of romances do you like best?

Thanks for the welcome! I love reading Harlequinn. I joined this site hoping to find out some good authors to try. I've been reading since I was little. Sometimes I like mystery mixed with romance, pure romance, etc. Any good suggestions as to who to try?

For pure romance, with Harlequin, I go with Susan Meier (who writes for Harlequin Romance) and Karen Rose Smith (who writes for Harlequin Special Edition). Terrific characters.

Thanks for the suggestions. Any suggestions on who to read for good full length novels? I started my book review blog, but to get followers I need to read what others are interested in.

I have blogger friends, and I don't necessarily think that's the way you ought to go. Write about what you're interested in and like-minded people will find you. :-)

And then I didn't answer your original question. lol I'm a huge Nora Roberts fan, and Linda Howard does fantastic romantic suspense. Honestly, if you go over to the main Romance Novels site and dig through not just the reviews, but the links, you'll find all kinds of great authors.

Thanks! You've been very helpful!

Hi! I am Amy the editor for the Prime Time site and I have been meaning to join this forum for a while now as I am a published romance author. I love reading and discussing and I would really love to hear the readers take on romance novels and everything that goes along with it! So this is my introduction. If you would like to know about me as a writer, my webpage is amyromine-dot-com.

Cannot wait to talk with you all!

Hi All!! I'm Thomas, and I'm an aspiring young adult fiction and romance novelist. I'd appreciate any and all tips you guys have as well as any reading recommendations!! Thanks!

Hi, Thomas, and welcome.

My first suggestion is find a writers' group local to you. I know when I was starting out, that was an enormous help to me, being able to meet face to face with other writers of varying experiences. The second suggestion I have is to read, read, read, read everything you can get your hands on in the areas you intend to write. Knowing what's selling to publishers in your area(s) of interest is a great way to work on one's own writing.

Thanks Elizabeth! I've been looking into some writers groups... maybe i'll get off my lazy butt and go find one this week! I'm already following your second suggestion! :D Your third idea is really good too, i know i should find out what the &quot;competition&quot; is doing... Thanks again! any and all help is appreciated... we writers have to stick together!

Hi, everyone My name is R.L. Mathewson. I'm a stay at home mom as well as an author of romance novels, contemporary and paranormal. I've been an avid romance novel reader now for going on three years. Before I stumbled on a book by Julia Quinn I read pretty much anything and everything. I'll admit that I had a bit of a snobbish view of romance novels, but I think that had a lot to do with the covers and how people I knew viewed them. I was pleasantly surprised when I read her books. They were witty, sweet, fun and sucked me in. For a while I read novels and couldn't help but wonder about the what ifs..... So one day I started writing and several months later I was done. I took one look at my book and gagged. It was complete garbage, but great practice. I kept at it until finally I had a book I loved. Now that's what I do. I love creating stories that put a smile on someone's face and I love the fact that to keep my skills up I have to read, a lot. It's a good excuse to keep my nose buried in a book. Well, that's me.

Welcome, R.L!

Elizabeth, My name is Cathy and I recently epublished my mother's romance, &quot;Divided Pathways&quot;, on Amazon.com. I would love to have some of your members review it. What do I need to do? I published this novel to fulfill a promise I made before my mother passed away. Epublishing allowed me to do this, but I am lost once it was put up. I would also love any suggestions from your members on how I might get the word out. Thanks.

Hi there. My name is Lori, and I'm an obsessive romance reader. I just got a Kindle and am now lost about how to find good books. The world of romance novels seems so much more open now. Hopeing to get some new recommendations. :D

Welcome, Lori!

If you haven't wandered over to the main site yet ( Romance Novels ), you may want to do that. Take a look through some of the reviews, perhaps, or, under the subjects, I have some of the reviews divided into category, so you can take a peek at those if you're more interested in one sub-genre of romance than another.

And if you tell us what sort of romance novels you like to read, I'm sure we can get you started with some suggestions.

my name is Margaret

i read romance mystery books like nora roberts

last year i bought a color nook

if anyone wants to be my NookFriend: margaret_l@myfastmail.com

Hi everyone! My name is Patti and I'm addicted to reading =) I love romance, vampires, and vampire romance..

Welcome, Patti!

Hi Elizabeth, nice to hear more about you. I've just joined the forum myself. I love all the Outlander series too though I must confess I didn't get into the last one as much as the previous books - maybe wasn't in the right frame of mind or something... I have a weakness for Regency romance, love Jane, Georgette etc. Have just bought and read an ebook (don't hate me!) called &quot;Losing Arabella&quot; by Claire Blaney which I thoroughly enjoyed and can recommend if you fancy a light read set in that period. Good luck with getting published - have you thought about publishing yourself online? It seems to have worked well for E.L.James... :lovers:

I remember reading Regencies way back when I was in high school--all the Heyers, etc.

Did you know, Claire, that Gabaldon is currently writing the final book in the Outlander series now? It's due out next year. I'm going to miss that series dreadfully--love Jamie!

I have a lot of friends who enjoy their e-books, I just prefer to have an actual paper book in my hand. <g> So no hating there. lol

I have not considered self-pubbing. My agent is shopping one of my mss. around now, and I have confidence in her. :-)

Ahh Jamie - I know - wouldn't you just love to meet him! I shall have to read the final book then - but will be very sad if Jamie and Claire get killed off! Yes, I'm generally a paper fan myself - just started working part-time in the library -heaven! Best of luck with your book I'm sure you will get it picked up - I think the most important thing for a writer is to be a reader so you should be well placed..

Hey everyone! I'm Candy, and I'm an aspiring historical romance author. I also LOVE classic literature (Jane Austen, Bronte sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, etc.) I have roughly two or three Gothic romance novels in line to be written so far (A Search for Redemption and Lord of the Captive), and one about the Titanic (An Ill-Fated Journey) and possibly even more to come! I hope to get involved in medieval romance as well, if I can get some good research on the time period. Lately I've lacked motivation due to the fact that I can't seem to stomach any criticism, which annoys me to no end. I feel so anxious anytime someone reviews my writing, and I really need to work on learning to accept it. I know there are people who will hate my writing, but that there are people who say they like it too. That's about all for now. :)

Welcome, Candy!

Who are some of your favorite historical romance authors? Any who have inspired your writing?

Thank you! My favorite historical romance authors are Lisa Shea and Julie Klassen :) Julie Klassen has several regency romances, including one Gothic style one called Maid of Fairbourne Hall. She also has a regency romance called The Girl in the Gatehouse. I would say both have inspired me, but mostly Lisa Shea and some classic authors, especially Emily and Charlotte Bronte. Oh, there's also Joan Ellen Delman and Helen Halstead, who have both written their own sequels to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

This could be a nice area to post my introduction friends. I am Mark and just joined this forum to share some good stuff with you all the existing members of this board. Have a good times.