by Kristan Higgins, author of All I Ever Wanted, on sale everywhere August 1!

Hello! It’s so nice to be here today! I’m very excited to chat about my new book, All I Ever Wanted. A romantic comedy set in a small town in Vermont…a brooding veterinarian…a sunny heroine…a couple of wicked cute dogs…a quirky family…I hope you’ll have a lot of fun with it!

One of the things I love about this book is, of course, the hero. Ian is a man incapable of lying, even when lying might be a good idea. Ian is honest to a fault…he can’t schmooze, he doesn’t sugarcoat anything, refuses to play along with anything. So different from Callie, who feels the need to make everyone like her. Callie will do just about anything to keep on the sunny side, overlook anything, go to any lengths to paint people in the most flattering light. No matter what life throws at her, Callie’s determined to make lemonade, as it were. Ian—well, Ian seems to prefer animals to humans. He’s a vet for a reason. Theirs is definitely a case of opposites attract. Ian’s been burned in the past, and not in the way you might expect, so he’s rightfully suspicious when Callie turns up in his office to check him out. A single guy in a small town is not going to go unnoticed by the female population, after all!

Another thing I had a lot of fun with in this book was the family, especially Callie’s grandfather, Noah. He’s a crusty old Vermonter who tells it like it is, and Callie adores the guy, even when she’s picking up his dirty dishes. Add Callie’s parents, who are attempting a reconciliation (well, sort of), her older sister, a fertility doctor with a grudge, and Fred, Callie’s wise-cracking baby brother…ah, families! No one loves us or knows us quite the way they do…but no one drives us quite as crazy, either.

As for the pets, well, I’ll admit that I love animals, so writing a vet hero was bound to happen. I’m the proud owner/best friend of Digger, a black lab mutt (I based the dog in my first novel on him). I’m also the obedient servant/doorman for our cat, Cinnamon. In this book, you’ll find Bowie, a dog as cheerful as his owner, and the rather perfect and elegant Angie, who fits Ian’s life to a T. Including pets in a story was a natural thing for me…owning a pet shows a commitment to another living creature, a selflessness and gives a person companionship, loyalty and friendship. Who doesn’t want all those nice things, right?

I hope you’ll enjoy All I Ever Wanted and can’t wait to hear some of your comments, answer some of your questions and hear about what you love in a romance. Thanks for dropping by!

To celebrate the upcoming release of All I Ever Wanted, we’re giving away five sample copies of the book, which includes an excerpt from both All I Ever Wanted and The Next Best Thing, as well as a coupon for $1 off the purchase price of All I Ever Wanted. To enter, please leave a comment about your favorite pet on this blog post before 12:00 AM EST Monday, July 26th. Unfortunately, the contest is only open to residents of the U.S. as the coupon is only valid there. Click here for full contest rules.

by Karen Queme, Manager, Digital Marketing

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We received thousands of submissions from old and new fans of Debbie, who all expressed what they would do with another chance, whether it be at love, school, work or family.

The submission deadline was on May 29^th and a list of 10 (our finalist list) was selected by Debbie Macomber herself! She was definitely touched but all of the entries.

We are now in the voting phase of our contest. Our 10 finalist submissions ranges from going back to school, helping out family members and students in their community. Now, I don’t want to give it all away, so check out the contest site, read the entries and vote for your favorite today!

By the way, our instant win game is still on! Visit every day to vote for your favorite finalist, and while you’re there, play our instant win game for a chance to win a copy of Hannah’s List.

If you haven’t gotten your copy for Hannah’s List yet,  check out www.Hannahslist.com to find out where!

Good luck!

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.

Editor’s Note: Hannah’s List, the latest book in Debbie Macomber’s Blossom Street series, is on sale today wherever books & ebooks are sold!

by Karen Queme, Digital Marketing

An unexpected letter, and unexpected letter and the gift of a second chance. This is the theme for Debbie Macomber’s latest release Hannah’s List. The story is about Dr. Michael Everett who receives a letter from his wife Hannah, on the first anniversary of her death, asking him to take this second chance and find love again.

I work on the digital marketing team here at Harlequin, and was fortunate to help with the launch of Hannah’s List. With the theme of a second chance, we decided to take this one step further and are asking Debbie’s fans to tell her what they would do, in a 100 words or less, if they had this amazing opportunity. Whether it’s a second honeymoon, a chance to go back to school or to donate to a charity, it’s all about you.  (If I could enter — too bad I can’t cause I work for Harlequin! — I would’ve taken the $10K and moved to London after high school and gone to university there.)

Once you’ve posted your submission, they will be available to view in an online gallery, which will be updated regularly. Pretty cool, eh?  After the submission phase, we’ll narrow it down to the top 10 and readers can vote on who they think deserves to win.

By the way, did I mention the grand prize is $10,000 for the submission with the most votes AND a chance to win instant prizes every day? We’re all about second chances.

The contest is only a part of this new release–we also just launched www.hannahslist.com where you can watch the book trailer and a welcome message from Debbie, opportunity to read the 1^st chapter of the book and learn more about the book and its characters. Plus, for a limited time, you can read The Shop on Blossom Street online for FREE!

Check out HannahsList.com and good luck

Karen Queme

Manager, Digital Marketing

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Editor’s Note: The Harlequin More Than Words award recipients have a wealth of experience to share, so to celebrate National Volunteer Week (April 18-24), we asked each of them to provide their tips for adding volunteerism to a busy schedule. Each day this week, one award recipient will offer her creative ways for getting fulfillment and satisfaction from some time and energy well spent!

Rhonda Clemons, Founder of Zoë Institute, a faith-based, long-term support agency for single women and their kids, shares her thoughts on volunteerism:

Clean out your wardrobe – donate clothing items that you haven’t worn lately to a charity that distributes clothing to women starting new lives (getting out of a shelter, going back to school, or maybe starting a new job).

Find a good “self-help” book that you’ve been wanting to read – volunteer to lead a group of eight women through the book with you for the next 8 weeks or so…

Volunteer to be a single mom’s mentor for the next 3 months – this would involve meeting weekly for one hour to support her as she works toward achieving her goals in life.

Organize a monthly or quarterly drive through your church or office – some of the items needed by women/children beginning new lives include: shampoo, feminine products, toothpaste, toothbrushes, diapers, formula, paper products, etc.

Be an advocate for charities that support women and children in your community. If your office or company has community reinvestment money, get involved and make sure they give to all types of needs.  Guide your company into new giving opportunities as you become aware of them.  Remember too that company’s can donate used equipment and expertise to small nonprofits as well.

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We’d love to hear about your volunteer experiences. Do you have a touching or humorous story about your own volunteer activities that you’d like to share? Comment today for a chance to win a FREE copy of More Than Words, Volume 6 which includes Robyn Carr’s novella SHELTERING HEARTS, inspired by Rhonda Clemons. Ms. Carr will personalize an autographed copy especially for the winner! Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST tonight and is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. For full contest details, please see here.

Editor’s Note: The Harlequin More Than Words award recipients have a wealth of experience to share, so to celebrate National Volunteer Week (April 18-24), we asked each of them to provide their tips for adding volunteerism to a busy schedule. Each day this week, one award recipient will offer her creative ways for getting fulfillment and satisfaction from some time and energy well spent!

Barbara Huston, co-founder of Partners in Care Maryland—which helps older adults live productive lives at home—provides some guidance for volunteers-to-be:

At Partners In Care we think that the best volunteer experience is one that comes from the heart and allows us to celebrate our unique gifts and talents.  When people ask us what they can do, we turn around and ask them back: what are their gifts and talents, what interests them, and what makes them happy.  We have found that we make good matches in service to older adults when we encourage the following ideas:

Volunteer Your Passion – what is it that touches your heart and creates an irrestible urge to get your hands into a project?  Does shopping get your juices flowing; and you want the excuse to do a little more? You can help an older neighbor with groceries and errands, navigating malls and megastores that can be intimidating to many.  Do you love quilting and think that everyone should be able to experience the rhythm of stitching and the whole beauty made from individual scraps? You can help out our Warm Houses project.

Volunteer Your Empathy – at one time you have needed help or you have provided care for a relative or friend; you KNOW how important that assistance is.  Now you want to give back some of that help and that support.  Did you help your grandmother with visits to the doctor or did someone sit with you while you waited for test results?  You can be a volunteer driver in our Ride Partners program and enjoy giving back.

Volunteer Your Talent – do you have expertise in a particular area that you like to keep viable?  Are you a woodworker with no more room in your house for projects, or are you a computer geek that loves to get others interested in the possibilities of the internet?  You can keep those skills current by being a handyman in our Repairs With Care program or a computer buddy for a stay-at-home senior who just needs someone to hold her hand while she navigates with the mouse.

Volunteer Your Experience – Did you work in retail and still want to keep your hand in from time to time?  Our thrift store can benefit from your skill.  Was administration your career? The office always needs support for making sure our data and our processes are in order.  If teaching or social work was your field, our program is looking for interviewers to ease the path for older adults to participate in Partners In Care and to make all the matches that are the core of our time exchange program.

Volunteer Your Personality – Are you a social butterfly who likes to be part of a group or are you a good listener who appreciates the one-on-one of a life story? Programs and projects are managed by teams of our volunteers and yet we also have a place for individuals to visit and provide respite.  Because we create a virtual community of support, we have a niche that will fit your personality like a glove!

Barbara Huston poses with copies of More Than Words Volume 6

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We’d love to hear about your volunteer experiences. How have you translated your life’s skills and interests into a volunteer opportunity? Comment today for a chance to win a FREE copy of More Than Words, Volume 6 which includes Christina Skye’s novella SAFELY HOME, inspired by Barbara Huston. Ms. Skye will personalize an autographed copy especially for the winner! Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST tonight and is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. For full contest details, please see here.

Editor’s Note: The Harlequin More Than Words award recipients have a wealth of experience to share, so to celebrate National Volunteer Week (April 18-24), we asked each of them to provide their tips for adding volunteerism to a busy schedule. Each day this week, one award recipient will offer her creative ways for getting fulfillment and satisfaction from some time and energy well spent!

Roni Lomeli, Executive Director of Shoes That Fit— which provides new shoes to children in need for school—shares her ideas for incorporating volunteerism into your routine:

Start small so you can feel the success and build from there.

Do something you are passionate about.  If you love shoes (or didn’t have them growing up) start a Shoes That Fit Chapter in your community. If you love to read, volunteer with a literacy program or read with kids at school.  Do you love animals?  Check out your local shelter, there are many opportunities to help there.

Don’t reinvent the wheel.  Tie yourself into an existing charity that works in the area you’re interested.  It’s probably out there already.

Involve your children!  Kids are compassionate and love to feel that they can make a difference, too.  You are spending time with your kids, teaching them about giving and thinking about others.  They don’t learn it by themselves.  Hopefully, they too will pass it on to their own children.

Tie your giving into what you already do.  When you are at the grocery store, pick up extra food for the food bank.  Shopping for shoes, pick up an extra pair for a child in need.

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We’d love to hear about your volunteer experiences. How has your life been enriched by your volunteer activities?  Comment today for a chance to win a FREE copy of More Than Words, Volume 6 which includes Maureen Child’s novella THE PRINCESS SHOES, inspired by Roni Lomeli. Ms. Child will personalize an autographed copy especially for the winner! Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST tonight and is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. For full contest details, please see here.

Editor’s Note: The Harlequin More Than Words award recipients have a wealth of experience to share, so to celebrate National Volunteer Week (April 18-24), we asked each of them to provide their tips for adding volunteerism to a busy schedule. Each day this week, one award recipient will offer her creative ways for getting fulfillment and satisfaction from some time and energy well spent!

Katherine Chon is President and co-founder of Polaris Project, one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations in the United States and Japan, reaching out to victims of modern-day slavery, operating a national 24-hour hotline, and advocating for stronger policy. Today she shares her suggestions for raising awareness of human trafficking within your social circle and beyond:

Advocate for legislation. Visit Polaris Project’s Action Center to find out about local legislation in your state and what you can do to help make sure there are strong human trafficking laws.

Start a book club. Pick up books about human trafficking then meet and discuss the book, the issue, and the ways that your group can help fight human trafficking in your area and in the country. Good books on this topic include: Ending Slavery, Not For Sale, The Johns, and Half the Sky. To find a list of other books visit our Resources section.

Host a fundraising dinner. Instead of going out to restaurants, host potluck dinners with your friends, family, neighbors, and peers. It will give you an opportunity to spread the word about human trafficking as well as spend time with friends and meet new people. On the invitations you can include a human trafficking NGO along with a “suggested donation.” Or, if you make the dinner yourself you can charge per person and the proceeds can be donated to a human trafficking NGO of your choosing!

Host a girls’ night in. Host a girls’ night in where you can talk about the issue and how it affects your community, city, and the United States as a whole. Then, come up with ways that you can combat human trafficking in your area. You can also host a wine night or a survivor product night (contact The Emancipation Network/Made by Survivors for more information), where you can suggest that the ladies donate to an NGO that fights human trafficking in your area.

Plan a movie night. Whether a screening is hosted at your house or at an actual theater, movies are a great way to spread the word and educate others about human trafficking. Great movies about human trafficking include: Very Young Girls, Not My Life, Human Trafficking, Amazing Grace, and Lilja 4-Ever. Remember that many of these movies are graphic so keep in mind the viewers that you plan to invite. You can also host the movie night at a larger location (you’ll need a projector) so that you can invite more people. Or if you really want to go big, contact your local movie theater to see how you can plan a movie night for charity where the proceeds would go to an organization in your area. For more information visit here.   For a list of movies visit here.

Volunteers assembling gift bags for some of the women Polaris Project helps.

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We’d love to hear about your volunteer experiences.  Did you realize how wide-spread human trafficking is in the United States? Is it a cause you would consider volunteering your time to help? Comment today for a chance to win a FREE copy of More Than Words, Volume 6 which includes Joan Johnston’s novella ALMOST LOST, inspired by Katherine Chon. Ms. Johnston will personalize an autographed copy especially for the winner! Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST tonight and is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. For full contest details, please see here.