You love cookies. You love Lori Wilde. You loved THE FIRST LOVE COOKIE CLUB. You will love these three e book originals of THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CHRONICLES. The first is on sale now!

I just called the three finalists in the “Debbie Macomber” writing contest–and only one was at home! I really wanted to give out the good news in person. But, alas, it’s not to be. So, I’ve left messages. I’ve e-mailed. And now I’m announcing it here. They are (in alpha by author’s last name order and with a drumroll!): MISS CHANCE by Cheryl Johnson WHERE THERE’S SMOKE by Amy Mullins THE BET by Darlene Panzera Congratulations!! The team here read the submissions (all of them) and we were really impressed by so many of them. The quality was really quite high. We are announcing the winner on our Avon Facebook page at 11am (Eastern time) tomorrow–good luck to the three finalists and thank you everyone who participated. It was really hard to choose these final three to send to Debbie.

Why are we here? Why do the people we love the most have to leave us? And where do we go after it happens? These are the questions I wrestled with throughout my childhood, teen, and adult years. Eventually, I resolved I would never truly know the answers, but that didn’t stop me from looking for them. And it wasn’t until I finished writing my first novel Proof of Heaven that I realized I may even have a couple things figured out after all––thanks in part to a few characters who helped light the way for me, namely one character in particular: Sean Magee, a NYC firefighter. While he is a total creation of my imagination, Sean isn’t foreign to me at all. In fact, in some ways he is like every man I have ever loved––from my dad, to my two brothers, to even the men I eventually dated and actually “fell in love with” as a young woman. My character Sean is fiery, passionate, hilarious––and such a good time––but he could be a bit of a hot mess, too. (Pot meet Kettle. Yes, so am I. Who isn’t?) But, Sean’s really just stunted by his demons and perplexed [...]

Fairytales. Do romance readers love them? Of course we do. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast are all woven into our childhood memories thanks to Walt Disney But grownups like Fairytales too. Witness the number of people who watched Kim’s Fairytale Wedding. Perhaps there is a reason why most fairytales takes us to the wedding and not beyond. But is you want to know the real inside scoop on Kim and the other Kardashians, DollhouseN the exciting novel penned by the sisters, will appear in stores this month And if you are looking for the faiyrtale check out Sarah MacLean’s NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE, Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE or Eloisa James’ upcoming THE DUKE IS MINE. Maybe we will send Kim some romance books.

Happy Halloween! To me the appeal of Halloween has never been the thrills, chills and frights. It’s always been about the clothes. The costumes. The over the top embellishments. That and as a child, it was the one day a year I was allowed to wear make up. As an adult I really admire the clever costumes, for example the couple that went to a party as “Green” with “Envy” or my friend who made a Quangle Wangle hat from Lear For his hat was a hundred and two feet wide, With ribbons and bibbons on every side And bells, and buttons, and loops, and lace, So that nobody ever could see the face Of the Quangle Wangle Quee. But my favorite costumes as a child were the beautiful over the top ones my mother sewed from scratch such as Little Bo Peep complete petticoats. Or the gypsy costume I wore as a tween. Unfortunately, the sewing gene did not pass down (or the free time gene maybe) so my daughter must struggle through with her store bought Cruella deVille outfit with her bff as a dog. Dress up! It’s why I also love my job. It’s a lot of [...]

Yes, this is really a holiday…on another note, what are you dressing up as for Halloween?

I’ve always been somewhat addicted to romance—to love at first sight and dramatic meetings and passionate embraces that resemble that Robert Doisneau print of the French couple kissing (you can usually spot a romance addict early on, in fact, because she had that print hanging on the wall of either her teenage bedroom or college dorm).

Last week our first Avon Impulse title to be plucked (or should we say rescued?) from the slush pile, Circle of Desire by Carla Swafford, went on sale. We caught up with Carla to see just how life as a published author has been treating her. Avon Blog: What was it like for your debut novel to come out? Carla Swafford: Unbelievable. I’ve never allowed myself to daydream the actual event, so most of it felt unreal. One of the funny moments was when I received the print-on-demand copy. I started reading it as if I never seen it before, and the characters became even more real than I had imagined in my head. It was an awesome, scary feeling. AB: Did the experience live up to your expectations? CS: Since I refused to imagine that day, I had no expectations. Well, maybe a few. They crept up on me the closer the day came. They were: that the day would be sunny and clear (it was), that I would celebrate with my friends online (we did), and that I would eat at my favorite restaurant to celebrate (I did). AB: Did anything happen that you didn’t expect? CS: Goodness, [...]

We are super thrilled about tomorrow’s release of THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Lynsay Sands and Jeaniene Frost! To celebrate, we’re popping up on different blogs throughout the day to give readers a chance to win some fabulous prizes. All you need to do is visit those blogs where you’ll get clues to our questions, then go to Avon’s Facebook Fan Page and enter your answer. Here’s the schedule: 9AM (ET): Avon Romance – Heather Brazeau is our 1st WINNER! 10AM(ET): Smexy Books – Winner is Angela Ricketts! Congrats!! 11AM(ET): Romance Reader at Heart – Tammy VanScoy is our winner! 12PM(ET):Babbling about Books- Congratulations, Laura Kubitz! 1pm (ET): Vampire Book Club Congratulations, Amy Carter! 2pm (ET): RT Book Reviews This hour’s winner is…Zinnia Zertuche! 3pm (ET): Dear AuthorCongrats to Morgan Walters!!! 4pm (ET): Smart Bitches Trash Books – Tami Bates is a winner! 5pm (ET): GRAND PRIZE WINNER ANNOUNCED Every hour, we will randomly select a winner from the correct answers. Prizes include gift cards, books, an entire Lynsay Sands and/or Jeaniene Frost library, all leading up to our Grand Prize. So, do you know the Argeneaus as well as your own family? Are you as familiar with Cat and [...]

Or any other kind, for that matter! Okay, I cannot resist poking a little fun at presidential hopeful Ron Paul’s apparent eyebrow malfunction in last week’s Republican debate, as noted in the New York Times piece, Raising Eyebrows. I don’t need to tell you that he could take some lessons in virility from some of our favorite heroes. No drooping brows there. Only smoldering eyes, chiseled jaws, mischievous smiles, broad shoulders, muscular thighs. And strong, sexy, irresistible personalities. Men you can look in the eye (with no dangling brows) and get lost in. That’s what I’m talking about. At the moment, I’m thinking about the hero from Caroline Linden’s ONE NIGHT IN LONDON, Edward de Lacey. “She could feel the warmth and strength of his grip even through her gloves. His eyes weren’t cold, flat gray at all; there were shards of blue in them, like glimpses of clear sky between clearing clouds, and she thought to herself that he would be a very dangerous man if ever roused to passion. And for some reason she found the image very attractive.” Edward is the first hero in Linden’s new series — and one you’re sure to want to meet! Who [...]