Editor’s Note: From May 24-28 we are featuring posts by the editor and authors of the Harlequin NASCAR series. Are you a fan? New to the series? Leave a comment and be entered to win a FREE copy! See below for details.

by Abby Gaines, author of “Chasing the Dream” in The Memory of a Kiss (Harlequin NASCAR, June 2010)

My first love—of the fast, four-wheeled kind at least—was open-wheel racing. Dirt track stuff. Nitty-gritty…mostly gritty.

I was editor of a speedway magazine called The Dirt, and at my local racetrack I became known as “the Dirt girl.” I was so grateful anyone still considered me a girl, I didn’t worry about the dirt part…

Open-wheel racing “midget race car”

I loved that job, but I never thought my interest in racing would link to my romance writing until…deep breath… NASCAR.

I’d seen NASCAR on TV, along with other motor sports, but until I heard that Harlequin planned to publish stories set in that world, I hadn’t paid much attention to what those guys were doing out on the pavement for hours at a stretch. (The races I usually watched lasted all of four minutes!)

But if I wanted to write about NASCAR, I needed to watch it. There would be big differences, I figured, from open-wheel racing, and not just the cars.

So I started watching, and got hooked right away, just like millions of other people.

But, guess what? It turns out the major difference between NASCAR and the open-wheel stuff I’d cut my teeth on is…the cars. They look different and go much faster. Okay, yeah, the tracks are bigger, too, and way more people watch the races. But there were more similarities than differences.

Such as, the driver and the racing mindset. Turns out, whether you’re hurtling around a dirt track in a midget, or eating up pavement in a stock car, wanting to win is the just the starting point. There’s persistence, focus, physical fitness, the ability to overcome setbacks…Hmm, no wonder NASCAR drivers make great romance heroes! (They make WAY better money than dirt track drivers, too, which always helps.)

Next, the families. One thing I love in open-wheel is the multi-generational involvement. Grandfathers, fathers, sons—a legacy passed through generations, but also bringing the generations together in their passion for motor racing. Turns out it’s the same in NASCAR, even though there’s huge corporate participation in the sport. There are “NASCAR families” in the administration, in the teams and, of course, among the fans. I’m a big fan of anything that brings families together!

Then there are the teams. I learned early in my race reporting career that drivers seldom say “I.” It’s always “we,” and they mean it. A driver, in open-wheel or NASCAR, knows he’s nothing without the guys who bust their guts, week in and week out, to put together the perfect car for the track conditions. Those guys’ jobs are a blend of extreme skill and extreme intuition, not to mention speed and physical fitness. Hmm, no wonder NASCAR team members also make great romance heroes!

I’m really looking forward to reading the new Harlequin NASCAR series. Yummy heroes, strong families, intense competition. What do you love about racing?

 Since we’re featuring blog posts all week from the Harlequin NASCAR series, we are going to randomly draw five commenter’s names from the week’s posts to win the latest Harlequin NASCAR release, The Memory of a Kiss, by Wendy Etherington, Abby Gaines and Liz Allison! Just leave a comment on any of the posts published this week and you’ll be entered in the draw. Unfortunately, the contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST on Friday, May 28th. Click here for full contest rules.

Editor’s Note: From May 24-28 we are featuring posts by the editor and authors of the Harlequin NASCAR series. Are you a fan? New to the series? Leave a comment and be entered to win a FREE copy! See below for details.

by Jean Brashear, author of Crossing the Line (Harlequin NASCAR, April 2010)

When I was first asked to be part of the Harlequin NASCAR series, my reaction was to laugh.  “Not only do I not know anything about NASCAR, but it looks like a really dumb sport.  I mean, what’s interesting about cars going around in a circle?” I said.  Fortunately for me, my editor insisted I look into it because she wanted me for that particular book.

I did a lot of research and my interest was quickly piqued…but nothing sold me quite like my first race, the Bristol Night Race, called The Hottest Ticket in NASCAR.  People kept telling me I was in for something special, but…wow.  Double wow, is all I can say.

There’s so much I could talk about, but the first should be the generous spirit of the NASCAR Nation.  People might be diehard devotees of one driver and despise another, but when it came to helping out a greenhorn too ignorant to live (aka me) every last one of them was more than willing to lend a hand or patiently explain (and okay, sometimes debate) the ins and outs of drivers and teams and strategies, etc.

I found a lot going on during the Bristol weekend besides the races, including a festival downtown and the very cool parade of haulers on Thursday night.  (If only my pictures had turned out to match the experience. Sniff.)

And speaking of experiences—drum roll, please…Jean got a HOT PASS!!!!!!  For those of you who don’t know, that is A Big Deal for us mere mortals.  It meant I could be in the pit/garage area while the cars were on the track (aka the track is ‘hot.’)  I spent most of the day on Friday watching Nationwide and Cup practice and qualifying, and it was unbelievably exciting to see in person all the activities I’d researched.  The pit/garage area at Bristol is so small that it’s jam-packed with haulers, inspection tents, tire sale area, fueling area…you really have to watch where you’re going so as not to be in someone’s way.

Jean with friend John modeling their Hot Passes.

But boy, are you ever in the center of the action! I couldn’t believe I was standing right by all these drivers I admired and was bowled over, when I first emerged from the tunnel that goes under the track, to see the cars whizzing around within mere feet of me!  (And talk about banking…they’re driving around the slope of a mountain, I swear!)

Then the Main Event—Saturday night at Bristol!  They were doing the world’s largest card stunt to get in the Guinness Book of World Records, and the opening ceremonies still give me goosebumps just describing them:  the whole stadium one big American flag, Lee Greenwood’s always-moving song, “God Bless the USA,” a giant flag being parachuted onto the track, fireworks, the children of NASCAR teams singing the national anthem and jets flying overhead…I swear, you could not help having your heart just about pound right out of your chest!

Opening Ceremonies

Then, 160,000 fans screaming as the engines roared to life—it was all absolutely unforgettable, one of the most unique experiences of my life and one I will cherish forever.

Speaking as someone who was so sure only five months earlier that NASCAR was a silly sport…well, famous last words, eh?  I might have begun as the most unlikely fan on the planet, but when I finished writing that first book, I had to alert my still-bemused family and friends that even if I was never asked to do another book, they weren’t through hearing about NASCAR.

This formerly skeptical writer is well and truly hooked!

 Since we’re featuring blog posts all week from the Harlequin NASCAR series, we are going to randomly draw five commenter’s names from the week’s posts to win the latest Harlequin NASCAR release, The Memory of a Kiss, by Wendy Etherington, Abby Gaines and Liz Allison! Just leave a comment on any of the posts published this week and you’ll be entered in the draw. Unfortunately, the contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST on Friday, May 28th. Click here for full contest rules.

Editor’s Note: From May 24-28 we are featuring posts by the editor and authors of the Harlequin NASCAR series. Are you a fan? New to the series? Leave a comment and be entered to win a FREE copy! See below for details.

by Stacy Boyd, editor for the Harlequin NASCAR series

1.) Heroes are everywhere.

Growing up in Georgia, a lot of my friends made a habit of watching racing and the guys they most gushed over were the drivers. But in NASCAR romances, there are sexy dudes everywhere! On the track, in the pit stall, in the garage, owning the teams, sponsoring the teams…For NASCAR heroines, love happens when they find the perfect man for them, no matter his profession. I say this is true in life, too. And, yes, I am a hopeless romantic.

2.)  Every person’s role is essential.

When I first started working on NASCAR romances, I was pretty sure the sport was about driving in circles very fast. Not so! Strategy and teamwork are the backbone of racing, and everyone—mechanics, technicians, tire changers—plays a vital role in winning. Half a second at a pit stop can change everything. Isn’t that sort of like life? Everyone plays an important role, even if we can’t always see it right away. One after-school encounter at the Del Taco can change everything, i.e., that was all it took for me to fall for my husband.

3.) It’s all about love.

NASCAR romances are tales of families—blood relatives, working relatives, team players, fans who make the track a tradition. There are parties and festivities, rivalries and drama. All of it centers on love—of a sport, of family, of a boy and a girl.

Starting this June, you can discover more NASCAR life lessons by checking out our brand new storyline. We’ve changed the format—two novellas in each book—and we’ve got brand new voices in the line-up—YA author Mandy Hubbard and reader favorite Pamela Britton to name two.

Have you read NASCAR? Or visited a race? Let us know what stock cars—or their drivers—have taught you!

 Since we’re featuring blog posts all week from the Harlequin NASCAR series, we are going to randomly draw five commenter’s names from the week’s posts to win the latest Harlequin NASCAR release, The Memory of a Kiss, by Wendy Etherington, Abby Gaines and Liz Allison! Just leave a comment on any of the posts published this week and you’ll be entered in the draw. Unfortunately, the contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST on Friday, May 28th. Click here for full contest rules.

Still reeling from all of the love? Or perhaps it was a quiet long weekend with not much to-do? Whatever your sentiments about the big V day, we know you’re a romantic at heart, so you’ll still appreciate all of the great editorial we have for this month. Here’s Jayne, our Community Manager, with a look at what’s really hot for the month of February (and beyond!)

by Jayne Hoogenberk, eHarlequin Community Manager

You gotta know that Cupid’s in the house, or at least knocking at the door of the Blaze series with a title like Her Sexy Valentine.  And reader-favorite Stephanie Bond proves that love comes when and how you least expect it in this sizzling story of coworkers turned lovers, and if you’re wanting even more sugar and spice, follow it up with ManHunting, a sultry Blaze anthology by New York Times bestselling authors Betina Krahn, Joanne rock and Lori Borril.

 

You might want to check out A Valentine’s Wish by Betsy St. Amant. One of the first Valentine’s stories by Love Inspired AND by an up and coming new author. This is a story of friends who come to realize that they’re really in love with each other. Set in atmospheric New Orleans, it’s a sure pleaser!

For a different kind of Valentine read you’ll want to pick up The Man from Nowhere by New York Times bestselling author Rachel Lee.  This is a very moving page-turner about a “man from nowhere” who watches the heroine from afar to protect her because he “sees” her murder.  Now that’s a Valentine who’s got your back!

May I just say, Ladies ‘Start Your Engines’ with this great NASCAR anthology by Vicki Lewis Thompson and Nancy Warren and Dorien Kelly called Racing Hearts.  As Vicki Lewis Thompson says “I’m a NASCAR convert. I confess that until diving into this story, I knew very little about NASCAR. But as the proud owner of a hot little two-seater sports car, I was more than willing to learn about fast cars and the daredevils who drive them.”  She’s got MY vote and I can’t wait to dive into the stories either!

If you’re hunting for out-of-this-world romance, Silhouette Nocturne will have you howling for more with a scrumptious and unearthly bonus story in two full-length titles from the Wolf Moons miniseries where werewolves fights against evil and fight for love. Check out Red Wolf and Wolf Trap for two stories for the price of one,  just in time for Valentine’s Day

And rounding out the highlights, I’d be totally remiss not to mention something we haven’t seen in a while with The Fun Factor – a new Romantic Comedy miniseries launching in Harlequin Romance in March with Oh-So-Sensible Secretary by Jessica Hart. It might be a March title, but you can get books a month in advance on eHarlequin.com, just one of the benefits of being an online shopper! Now our editors say they’re really excited about this miniseries, and that it has a real feel good guarantee and that’s good enough for me! The next book is Tipping the Waitress with Diamonds by Nina Harrington (May)

So I hope I’ve given you room for thought if not a passel full of recommendations for Valentine’s reading, enjoy!