Darlene Gardner asks: How much does hearsay play into your perception of others?

I've been thinking about that question a lot this month with the release of my book The Hero's Sin, the first in a new series from Harlequin Superromance.

At the beginning of the book, Sara Brenneman witnesses Michael Donahue risk deadly whitewater to save a child from drowning. She thinks of him as a hero before she finds out that many people in town have another name for him: Murderer.

No matter what anyone says, she won't change her mind. She believes only what her heart tells her.

My editor tells me the kind of blind faith Sara displays is a hallmark of my books. Of my life too, I think. I once worked with a woman who was disliked by most of our co-workers. I heard story after negative story about her. Yet she was always perfectly lovely to me so I chose not to believe the gossip.

Naivety? Maybe. Many a woman has gotten burned for not believing friends who told her the guy she was in love with was a player.

What do you think? How can you tell when it's okay to listen to your heart?

Darlene Gardner

Geri Krotow asks: What’s In a Title?

Looking at my latest release, What Family Means (Harlequin SuperRomance 2/09), I’m at once thrilled to again be published in book-length fiction, in awe of the cover art that depicts the perfect Buffalo, New York snowstorm, and amazed at the title. My working title for this story was “Remember Paris.” While Paris does play an integral part in the romance of my hero and heroine, it isn’t what the book is about. This story is about love against all odds, and just as important, family against all odds. So you see, What Family Means turns out to be the perfect title for this story.

Family means so many different things to all of us. Family of origin, extended family, birth family, adoptive family, step-family, blended family. Then of course the adage that you can choose your friends but not your family. I think of my closest friends as indeed a part of my family. But what really connects us all? What provides the cement, the glue that keeps people, related by birth or choice, together?

I dug deep to try to find at least one answer to this question—the answer that worked for Debra and Will in What Family Means. Debra is from a white, economically-challenged part of Buffalo. Will is African-American and his father a successful doctor. Debra and Will meet as children in the 1950’s, and fall in love with one another through the 1960’s and early 1970’s. I tried to be true to history and honor the struggles couples like Debra and Will faced. But I also honored what kept them together, allowed them to marry, have children, and thrive as a couple. Love.

It’s a thrill for me to blog here at NovelTalk. It’s always been my dream to be a published author and well, here I am—book number two already! I can’t thank all the wonderful folks who read my first book, and have asked “when’s the next one coming out?”

I’ll leave you with my gratitude, and something to mentally chew on. Happy St. Valentine’s Day in advance!

What’s your definition of family? What struggles have you been through to protect and nurture your love?

Geri Krotow