medici simply books feb 2013 issue

7/30/2019 Medici Simply Books Feb 2013 issue

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B.J. DANIELSSHARES THE SECRET TOCREATING INTERESTING

CHARACTERS

MOMS THE WORD!

A SPECIAL MOTHERS DAY

AUTHOR TALK

SPECIALVALENTINESISSUE:OUR TOP ROMANTIC

BOOKS OF 2012PLUS!A FREEVALENTINES DAY NOVELLA

FEBRUARY-MAY 2013

Enjoy your free magazine subscription from the Harlequin Reader Service

R O M A N C E E D I T I O N


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Contents2 The Lure of THUNDER POINT

Robyn Carr introduces her NEW series

4 Embracing the Disfunction B.J.Danielsfondnessforawedcharacters

6 Spring Reading Guide

8 Raising the Stakes in TexasA Harlequin Romance Suspense series

10 Q & A with Christie Ridgway Theauthordiscusseshernewtrilogy

12 Introducing Harlequin KissA NEW romance series

14 The Ambassadors Daugther AnexerptfromPamJenoffsnewbook

16 Pet Corner: Peanut the Rescue Dog

18 Sand Castle BayAn exerpt from Sherryl Woods lastest

20 Steamy Romances for Valentines Day AselectionofgreatValentine-themedreads

22 Moms the WordAuthors share fond memories of their Moms

24 Top 10 Romantic Books of 201226 The Real Secret Behind Weight Loss

An exerpt from The Virgin DietbyJ.J.Virgin

28 Series SpotlightHarlequin Historical

29 His Cowgirl ValentineYour FREE Harlequin Romance Novella

45 Bonus Bucks Catalog

54 Meet the Customer ServiceRepresentative

55 Book Order Form

56 The Last Word

Editors Note

This spring issueoSimply Booksmagazine comes rom the heart. I hope it

touches your heart as much as it touchesmine. With Valentines Day just around

the corner, this could possibly be ourmost romantic issue ever.

Inside, B.J. Daniels discusses herupcoming books and Robyn Carr gives us

the inside scoop on her brand-new series.Theres a special Q&A with Christie

Ridgway and an excerpt rom Sherryl

Woods latest book. Well introduce youto the new contemporary romance series

appropriately called Harlequin

KISS

.As a special treat or Mothers Day, we

asked some o our authors to talk aboutmothers and grandmothers. They discuss

what they enjoy about being a mother

or grandmother and shared movingmemories about their own mothers

and grandmothers.

Plus, well introduce you to Peanut, a very

special dog in this issues Pet Corner.And, weve included two very special

reading liststhe top ten romance bookso 2012 and a Valentines Day romance

round up. So, Happy Valentines Day,

Happy Mothers Day and...

Happy Reading,

Mary Ann MacKenzie


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THUNDER

POINT

2

Robyn Carrs newTHUNDERPOINT series is something she and I

have been talking about and planning

or many months. We talked about

location ideas and character studies

and story lines. But most o all, we

talked about wanting to develop a new

series that would contain all the things

that Robyn is known or: emotional

writing, sexy heroes, lots o humor and

a great sense o community. I think

she has delivered in spades. I hope you

enjoy The Wanderer, the rst book in

the THUNDER POINT series. I have

a eeling you will be spending a lot o

time in Thunder Point in the months

and years ahead.

Happy Reading!

Valerie Gray, Executive Editor,

Harlequin MIRA Books

Dear Reader,Sometimes a man has to accept certain

things about himsel and or Hank Cooper,his reality was that hed never stayed in one

place or long. In act, since leaving home

at the age o nineteen, his longest stint in

one place was with the army as a helicopter

pilot, and that was saying something, given

the act that the brass in the army seemed

to stay up nights looking or excuses to

transer people. But Cooper never minded

thathe usually elt restless about a weekater getting to a new place. He wasnt the

settling-down type; he even pulled a th

wheel so his very lie was lived on wheels.

Cooper liked being fexible and ready

to roll. Its with exactly that philosophy

that he went to attend to the unnished

business o a recently deceased riend and

ound himsel camping out on the ridge

Introducingthenewseriesfrom #1 New York TimesbestsellingauthorRobynCarr

The Lure of


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3

THE WANDERER IS AVAILABLE IN APRIL!

To learn more about Robyn Carr,visitwww.RobynCarr.com.

Visitwww.ReaderService.com/SimplyBooksExtrato read an excerpt from The Wanderer.

above a still, dark bay on the Oregoncoast. From where he sat outside his

trailer he could see a small, ordinary

town, a long and peaceul beach, a little

marina lled mostly with shing boats

and, beyond the bay peppered with tall,

haystack rock ormations, the crashing,

rothing Pacic Ocean. Picturesque, but

nothing spectacular. Until storms over

the Pacic rolled into the bay, then itwas like one o the seven wonders.

Cooper had traveled the world. Hed

seen beauty in every corner and it had

only inspired him to look urther. He

was a rolling stone and had reached the

age o thirty-seven without putting down

roots. He had no bills or obligations and

lie was easy, just as he liked it.

Cooper met a deputy who was the law

o the town, a man driven to keep a

quiet place sae and peaceul. There was

a young single mother who served him

his breakast at a little diner who knew

everyone and how each one o them

liked their eggs. A search-and-rescue

pilot who looked more suited or a

modeling career, and a teenage boy whowas too alone. The town, so ordinary

and unaected, was populated by people

who seemed to t together like the last

two pieces o a puzzle. And something

bizarre began to happen, something that

had never happened to him beore. They

began to draw him in despite the act

that he was ready to move on.

Something snagged at his heart, something

he was more than ready to resist. A

kindhearted town, a beautiul woman,

a atherless boy. A heart-stopping view.

Feelings o responsibility; eelings o desire.

In his mind he heard, Run Cooper, run. Andhe thoughtTomorrow I leave. He knew he

couldnt stay because he never had. But that

little town and its people tugged at him.

The town is called Thunder Point, and

youd never know to look at it that dreams

are built there.

See you there. Bring your dreams.


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10

Youstartedwritingyourownromanticstoriesasayounggirl,butitwasntuntilmuchlaterthatyoudecided to pursue your dream ofbeingapublishedauthor.Whator

whoinspiredyoutostartwriting?

Ater working in the tech industry or a

number o years, I stayed home to careor my rst son and immersed myselin reading romances during naptime.One o my best riends rom high schoolcame to visit, saw what I was reading andasked why I wasnt writing those books,since Id always aspired to do just that. Itwas the nudge I needed. Two weeks laterId joined a local chapter o RomanceWriters o America and I was invitedinto a critique group right away. Therewas no looking back! I was on my way tomy dream job.

Whenandwheredoyoumostliketowrite?

Im a morning person! I like to get upearly and head downstairs to my cozyoce. A ew rituals to get goingeed

the pets, make coee, check that no

emergency emails landed in my in-boxovernightand then I slip on headphonesto listen to the current books playlist andreturn to the story in my head.

What inspired the BEACH HOUSE

NO. 9trilogy?Iimagine,livinginCalifornia,theresnoshortageforinspiration.The original inspiration was just the wordsBeach House No. 9, reminiscent o thesong Love Potion No. 9, foating into myhead. I was working on something else atthe time, so I wrote the phrase down andpinned the paper to the bulletin board in

my oce. It stayed there or a couple oyears, waiting or me to nd the exact placeto set my beach house. I call it CrescentCove, but its very much like the real-lieCrystal Cove in Southern Caliornia. Itsnow a state park and is a great place to visitor the day, or even overnight in some othe reurbished bungalows.

Whenstartinganewtrilogy,isitmore

orlessdauntingknowingtherearecharacters and plots to be exploredlaterinfollowingbooks?

Its denitely worrisome! I live in ear Illpaint mysel into a corner, because as Imwriting the rst book, I dont know everydetail o the second and third. But itsamazing how a casual insertion in bookone turns out to be an important point

that I didnt see coming. For example, that

ChristieRIDGWAY

Q&A WITH

Christie Ridgway opensupaboutwhatinspiredhertostartwriting,hermorningroutine,and the characters of the Beach

House No. 9trilogy.

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silent movies were lmed at CrescentCove in the 1920s was something Iknew about the real Crystal Cove andso I put that in the rst book, merelyas a colorul piece o history. But itbecame important to the plots o thesucceeding stories.

Do you have a favorite character?Is there a character you relate tomore than the others?

Oh, boy. Can I just name my avoritechild instead? Im going to go a little othe grid here and say my heart reallywent out to the secondary characters oBeach House No. 9, Tess and David. Butthe wounded heroes o the trilogyGrin, Vance and Gageare the kindo tough-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside men that I adore. The heroines

Jane, Layla and Skyeall have wry

senses o humor and spines o steel. Idlove to have lunch with them.

WithValentinesDayjustaroundthecorner,onecanthelpbutreectontheir favorite romantic memory.What is yours?

Speaking o tough-on-the-outside,tender-on-the-inside, my husband isnt a

great romantic (though he did write me

a song beore we married!). Hes the type oman who gives you what you need, such asthe birthday when I received a brown paperbag ull o greasy car parts. What hed givenme was a tune-up and those were the pieceshed replaced. So I was surprised a ew yearsago to discover a stash o cards he had, lledwith loving words in a eminine handmyloving words. Hes saved all the cards Ivegiven him throughout our marriage.

Whatareyouworkingonnext?

Another book set in Caliornia, o course!Im a native Caliornian and its my pleasureto share with readers the unique beauty omy state, rom the wildfower-lled desertsto the tree-covered mountains to the long,golden stretches o sand.

BEACH HOUSE NO. 9

IS AVAILABLE NOW!LOOK FOR BUNGALOW NIGHTSIN MARCH AND THE LOVE SHACKIN APRIL!

This month, visitwww.ReaderService.com/SimplyBooksExtrato read an excerpt from Beach House No. 9.

FormoreinformationaboutChristieRidgwayvisitwww.christieridgway.com.

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Hi. My name is Maryand Iveworked at the Harlequin Reader Service

or twenty-ve years now. My riendshere asked me to share the story o Peanutthe Rescue Dog. Until last all my packconsisted o me, my lovely husband, John,and our two dogs, Barney and Sacha.

At eighteen, it wasnt surprising that Sachawas slowly ading until one morning weawoke to nd that she had passed awayduring the night. It was very sad but we

had the pleasure o knowing that we hadgiven her as much joy as she gave us.And the silver lining was that Barney, ourthirteen-year-old youngster could nowhave our ull time and attention. He hadbeen so great about the adjustments thatcame with having a senior sister, and nowit was his time.

And so the next week was lled withlonger, aster walks and accompanying my

husband on his errands. And a routinevisit to the vet or a consultation aboutsomething minor. Being thorough, our vetgave Barney a nose-to-tail look. How longhas Barneys eye been like this? Thenbegan a whirlwind o visits to specialistsuntil, ten days later, the shocking newsthat Barney had an inoperable tumor,and the prognosiseight good months.And then, worse still, Barneys condition

Corner:PET

PEANUT

progressed rapidly and two weeks later we

had lost Barney, too.

I was in shock. Thank goodness or mywonderul riends here at the HarlequinReader Service. They were so supportiveand understanding. And I sure needed it.As well as my eelings o loss, I elt theburden o knowing that we could havegiven Barney more.

A ew weeks later my husband asked

me about what type o dog I thoughtwe should get. He had been diligentlyresearching various breeds and keepingme inormed about their dierentqualities. I reminded him o my theory oDog Kismetthat somehow the right dognds the right owner. John agreed withme. Hed seen it happen many times. Buthow, he asked, was Dog Kismet supposedto happen i I didnt start to look. Do

THE RESCUE DOG


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Wed love to hear from you!SendusyourpetstoryandwellfeatureitinthePetCornerontheReaderServiceblogatwww.ReaderService.com/SimplyBooksExtraor

inanupcomingissueofSimply Booksmagazine.

Email to: [email protected]. Residents Canadian Residentsmail to: mail to:Pet Corner Pet Corner3010 Walden Ave., 225 Duncan Mill Road,P.O. Box 9048 Don Mills, OntarioBuffalo, NY 14240-9048 M3B 3K9

you think theyre just going to phoneyou? The next day the phone rang.

A rescue organization had contacted ourvet about a seven-month-old puppy thatneeded a home. And our vet thought ous. One look at Peanut and I knew thatour dog had ound us. Over the nextweek, as we spent time together, I noticedsomething. Was it simply my wishulthinking?

It wasnt just me. Our vet had noticedit too. You know, she said, its as iPeanut is a combination o Sacha andBarney. Yes. She has Sachas intelligenceand all o Barneys heart and sweetness.

I had been given a second chance. Thatswhen I realizedPeanut IS a rescue dog.She rescued me.

Mary Abthorpe,Director, New Member Acquisitionand Retention

P.S. All o our dogs have had their quirks.Peanut is a bird-watcher. Not to chase.

Just to look at and admire. In the pictureo Peanut and her chicken riends, youcan see rom the chickens expression theinterest is mutual.


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Of course Samantha would beatthe storm! Emily couldnt seem tostop hersel rom rowning. Thoughshed never totally understood it, the

odd competitiveness shed always elt

with her oldest sister kicked in with a

vengeance. She supposed with three

sisters, there were bound to be rivalries,

but why with Samantha and not

Gabi? Gabi was the driven, successul

businesswoman, the one most like her in

terms o ambition.

Im getting on a fight out o here

tonight, Emily said determinedly,

motivated by Samanthas plans. I I

have to drive rom Atlanta, then thats

what Ill do.

Rather than admonishing her, Gabi

chuckled. Samantha said you were

going to say that. From the time youunderstood the dierence between

winning and losing, you hated it when

she beat you at anything. Okay, ne. Get

here when you can. Just do it saely. This

storm isnt looking pretty. I it wobbles

even the slightest bit to the west, Nags

Head will take a direct hit. You can bet

the road down to Hatteras will wash out

again unless they were a lot smarter when

they did the repairs ater the last storm.

Hows Grandmother? Cora Jane Castle

was in her mid-seventies, but still going

strong and determined to continue

operating the beachront restaurant

opened by her late husband even though

no one in the amily had demonstrated

any interest in running it. In Emilys

view, she ought to sell it and enjoy her

golden years, but the mere mention o

such an idea was considered blasphemy.

Stoic about the storm, but mad as a wet

hen that Dad drove over and picked her

up to bring her to Raleigh to ride out the

hurricane, Gabi assessed. Shes in my

kitchen cooking and muttering a ew very

bad words I had no idea she knew. I think

thats why Dad dropped her here, then

took o. He didnt want to be aroundwhen she got her hands on my knives.

Or it could be he had no idea what to

say to her. Thats his way, isnt it? Emily

said with a hint o bitterness. Under

the best o conditions, her ather, Sam,

wasnt communicative. Under the worst,

he simply wasnt around. Most o the

time shed made her peace with that, but

ENJOY THIS EXCERPT FROM

Sand Castle Bay

18

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling authorSherryl Woods takes readers to the North Carolina coastwith a new amily and her trademark heartelt emotions.


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on occasion simmering resentments rose

to the surace.

He has work to do, Gabi said,

immediately deensive, as always.

Important work. Do you know the kind

o impact these biomedical studies at his

company could have on peoples lives?

I wonder how many times he said exactly

that to Mother when he went o and let

her to cope with raising us.

For once Gabi didnt overreact. It wasa constant rerain, wasnt it? Well, were

all grown up. We should be over all those

missed school plays and recitals and soccer

games by now.

Says the not-so-well-adjusted woman

whos doing her best to ollow in his

ootsteps, Emily taunted with good

humor. You know youre no betterthan he is, Gabriella. You may not be a

scientist, but you are a workaholic. Thats

why you get so uptight when I criticize

him.

The silence that greeted her comment was

deaening. Gabi, I was only teasing,

Emily apologized, aware that shed crossed

a line. Seriously. You know how proud

SAND CASTLE BAYIS AVAILABLE IN APRIL!

19

we all are o your accomplishments.

Youre a top executive at one o the

hottest biomed companies in NorthCarolina, i not the entire country.

I know. You just struck a nerve, thats

all, Gabi said, then added briskly. Let

me know when youre getting in and Ill

pick you up at the airport, okay?

Beore Emily could oer another

apology or what had obviously been an

insensitive, ill-timed remark, Gabriella had

hung up. Not with the sort o clatter that

would mirror Emilys own quick fares o

temper, but quietly. Somehow that was

much, much worse.

Copyright 2013 by Sherryl Woods


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Real Secret

I you wanted to be your skinniest seland to ollow the healthiest diet in theworld, what would you eat? Egg-whiteveggie omelets? Greek-style nonatyogurt? Whey protein shakes?

That sounds like the regimen amoustrainers and A-list stars ollow, doesntit? But what i I told you that Ive been asought-ater tness and nutrition expertor over two decades and worked withthousands o clients, including some oHollywoods hottest bodies? And whati I told you what I told them, which isthat many o these supposedly healthyoods could actually be making you at?

Well, thats exactly what I am going totell you. So listen up, because Im aboutto share the secret to weight loss. It isnt

calories. It isnt at. It isnt protein. It isnteven carbs. You can count them and cutthem all you want, but you wont loseweight i youre eating oods that yourbody cant handle.

The key to weight loss is avoiding andovercoming ood intolerance.

Food intolerance is a series o

physiological responses that your bodyhas to certain types o ood. They arentthe same as allergies. Food-intolerancesymptoms vary rom person to person, butthe most common include bloating, gas,indigestion, atigue, mental og, irritability,moodinessand weight gain. I youreeating oods that your body cant tolerate,youre likely to gain weight, eel crummy,and look years older than your actual age.

BEHIND WEIGHT LOSS

THE

Earlier this year,as part o a company-widechallenge, I tried The Virgin Diet. By day 4, I elt moreenergetic and less stressed and within one week, I lost 5

pounds. So Im particularly happy to share this excerpt withyou. In the book, JJ Virgin explains that many commonissuesweight gain, bloating, atigue and joint painare

caused by ood intolerance. Shes helped thousands opeople eel better with her customizable program and nowits your turn to eel the benefts. I hope you enjoy and Iwish you happy reading and the best o health.

Sarah Pelz, Senior Editor, Harlequin Nonction Books

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An excerpt rom The Virgin Dietby JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS


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Maybe your daily diet is stressing yourbody through its high content o sugar,articial sweeteners, and processedoods, which tend to contain lots osoy, corn, and gluten. Or perhapsyouve maintained a seemingly healthy

regimen, but have never realized that allyour healthy eorts are being sabotagedby oods that commonly cause oodintolerance like yogurt (even nonat), eggs(even Omega-3-rich), and grains (evenwhole). Either way, i you weigh morethan youd like and look older than youdpreer, you are most likely struggling withood intolerances. How can you tell?Let me ask you what I ask my clients:

I the answer to even one o thesequestions is yes, youve likely been eatingtoo many High-FI oods, or problem oodsthat are likely to trigger ood intolerance.Whats the solution? Stop eating High-FIoods and replace them with Low-FI oods:oods that are unlikely to trigger oodintolerance. I you can cut out the top 7High-FI oods or just three weeks, youllsee weight loss and beauty results that will

have you looking and eeling terric.

Hey, i those old low-at, low-carb, orhigh-protein diets had worked or you inthe past, youd already be at your idealweight and peak vitality, right? Theresa reason that approach to ood doesntworkand theres a reason that theVirgin Diet does.Copyright 2012 by JJ Virgin

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THE VIRGIN DIETIS AVAILABLE NOW!

FormoreinformationaboutJJVirginandThe Virgin Diet,visitwww.JJVirgin.com.

Forarecipefromthebook,visitwww.ReaderService.com/SimplyBooksExtra.

Have you tried unsuccessully to lose weight?

Is what you used to do to lose weight no longer working?

Are you a yo-yo dieter?

Do you requently experience discomort atereatingbloating, gas, indigestion?

Are you eeling and looking older than you should?

medici simply books feb 2013 issue

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