I’m Celebrating The New Year with a New Book–Breakfast in Bed is Out!

After a long wait, the third book in my Domestic Gods Series hit the shelves the reviews are rolling in. Here are a few of the reviews and quotes that have come my way:

“A fun and spicy story. Robin Kaye is a fresh new voice in romance fiction.”
~Susan Donovan, New York Times bestselling author of Ain’t Too Proud to Beg

“With snappy dialogue, complex characters, and an intricate web of relationships, Kaye has created an extended family that’s both honest and enjoyable.”
~Whitney Kate Sullivan, Romantic Times Magazine – 4-Star Review

“Robin Kaye’s books are vacations for the soul. Indulge yourself.”
~Maureen Child, USA Today bestselling author of Conquering King’s Heart

“Breakfast in Bed is a fun and sexy romp from beginning to end. The characters are ones you would love to call friend.  Author Robin Kaye has a knack for reaching right into the reader’s heart and giving them a story to match their deepest desires.  Becca and Rich are perfect for each other.  The chemistry leaps off the page whenever they are together. I laughed, I cried, and I cheered them on as they frolicked their way to a happily ever after.  Bravo, Ms Kaye!”
~Lettetia Elsasser,  Affair de Coeur 4 ½  Stars

“If you’re in the mood for a light breezy read with a happy ending, but enough twists and turns to make it interesting, don’t miss this book.”
~Bellas Novella

“Breakfast in Bed is another fascinating look at the Ronaldi family and their friends that provided me with hours of enjoyment. I can’t wait to see who the next god Ms. Kaye decides to grace with their own book.
~Hibiscus, Long and Short Reviews 4 ½ Books

Here’s an excerpt of Breakfast in Bed:

Rich followed her to the kitchen and leaned against the breakfast bar, staring at her as if he could see beneath her clothes. It was unnerving, and she reminded herself of all the reasons she didn’t like him.

“I know you don’t like me much.”

Becca took a cup from the cabinet. Ah, and he was a mind reader too.

“I don’t know why, but it doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t?” Wow, he was good. Not in that way, she reminded herself. And no, she wasn’t even that curious. She poured herself coffee.

He shook his head. “It might be a good thing.”

She looked up from the cup she was filling. “How can my not liking you be a good thing?”

“I need help, and I know it might come as a shock, but most women find me attractive. That would just complicate matters.”

“Color me surprised. Since you know I don’t like you, I suppose I can give up pretending that I do.”

He nodded and smiled a sinfully sexy smile that made her hormones do the cha-cha. She stepped out of the kitchen and picked up the sheets, blanket, and pillow she’d left for him in the living room, and returned them to the closet. Anything to get away from him. The man was a threat to her equilibrium. Unfortunately, he followed. “Okay, so since I don’t have to be nice, and you’re weirdly happy about that, why don’t you just leave?”

“I have a proposition for you.”

“No.”

“No?”

“That’s the answer to your proposition.”

“Don’t you even want to know what it is?”

“Not especially, but I will listen if you promise it will get you out my door sooner.”

He smiled again, and she rolled her eyes. She just wanted to be alone already. When it came down to it, she wasn’t much of a social person. She spent most of her time alone in her studio, and she was happy to do it. She didn’t need a man or company to keep her happy.

“Gina dumped me. She said I wasn’t relationship material because I don’t cook, clean, and do my own laundry. How hard can it be? I just need a trainer.”

“A trainer?”

“Yeah, like a domestic coach. Someone to show me the ropes. So I learn whatever I have to learn to make Gina think I’m not such a bad bet.” He might as well have asked her to streak through Times Square during rush hour.

Rich picks up the gauntlet and mayhem ensues. He soon discovers that he enjoys pissing Becca off, it becomes a hobby. Before long, he’s having so much fun hanging out with Becca, he’s almost forgotten why he started this whole thing in the first place–to get his girlfriend back in time to go to a charity benefit with his boss. When Rich meets with Gina to tell her he’d changed, he realizes that he doesn’t want her in the first place, the only one he wants Becca, who still doesn’t like him. It was a good thing he had a talent for wearing her down.

If you want a sneak peek at the first chapter of Breakfast in Bed, Romeo, Romeo, or Too Hot to Handle, they’re on my website at www.RobinKayeWrites.com along with the Domestic Gods Top Ten List, reviews, and a calendar of my blog tour. I’ll be giving away a copy of Breakfast in Bed to a lucky commenter with this and every blog through the month of January, so stop by and say hi for your chance to win.

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of time travel. The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my favorite books from the last decade, and a lot of my teenaged fantasies involved me introducing a boy from the 50’s to the ways of the modern world. I blame that on Happy Days. But I never thought I’d attempt to write in that genre until I got the chance to contribute a short story for THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE.

I love a good “modern girl falls for a Regency era Duke or Highland Warrior story” as much as the next gal, but I wanted to try something different. Something a little darker.

Around the time I got the chance to submit this story, I’d been watching Life on Mars on TV, and loved the idea of someone being trapped in the wrong time but no one believing them. And of course I loved the heartbreakingly romantic notion from The Time Traveler’s Wife of meeting someone you love when they’re not at the right age, and/or don’t remember you’ve already met.  I also concede that my story, in hindsight, has similarities to Groundhog Day, although I didn’t notice them until a beta reader pointed it out. (And other than the repeating date thing… well, not much similarity.)

But from somewhere in all that confluence of influences sprang the idea for “Lost and Found”, the story of Jake who, angry and upset at his father’s death and the whole world, takes a tab of acid in Central Park on April 17, 1967 and then proceeds to wake up every day in the same place, on the same date, in the same clothes, just in a different year, leaping forward and backward in time every day he wakes. By the time he meets the heroine Kara, for the second time in 2009, he has given up on the hope of ever ending his torturous leaps through time. But, of course, the story’s a romance, so it all turns out well in the end.

Today is the official release date for this anthology, which in addition to my story, includes 19 great authors’ stories, including Gwyn Cready who won the RITA® for best paranormal romance last year. I’m thrilled to have been included, even though they spelled my name “many more” on the cover. At least they got my initials correct. Actually, on this image of the cover, I’m not even there as “many more”, but it is on the actual book. I promise.

To celebrate my first ever release, I’m giving away a copy of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE to one random commenter! I’ll announce the winner this Saturday — to give everyone a few days to enter.

If you could travel through time, when would you most want to go?

The life of a writer ain’t glamorous, that’s for sure. I know—insert my childrens’ eye-rolls here along with their snarky comment. “Call the Waaambulance!”

My next release, Breakfast in Bed was set to launch December first, so I’ve been frantically writing blogs for a month-long tour that was supposed to end the same day my next book, As Good as He Gets, is due on my editor’s desk. Needless to say, I was feeling a little stressed. It didn’t help matters when I received an email from my editor breaking the news that there was something wrong with the shipment of Breakfast in Bed. (Pause and take a deep breath, it’s just a couple of bumps right?) It seems that the red foil on the cover was sticking more to people’s hands than to the books. The entire shipment had to be sent back and reprinted. The new shipment is scheduled to hit the warehouse on the same day they were supposed to have hit the shelves. It’s a long and bumpy road we writers travel…

Luckily, most of the blog tour was rescheduled for a January launch. So, for everyone who is looking forward to buying Breakfast in Bed, it’s just gonna be a little late. The good thing is the reviews I’ve seen so far have been amazing. It received a 4-star review in Romantic Times Magazine, and a 5-Heart, Reviewers Top-Pick from Night Owl Romance.

I know there are always bumps in the road and you have to make due. So what’s the problem? I’m glad you asked. I expect the bumps, but what I didn’t expect was the huge pot holes I might encounter like the barrage of ugly and hurtful comments about writing romance I received in the last week.

Sure, I’ve heard other writers talk about how authors of romantic fiction get no respect, and I’ve heard my share of “When are you going to start writing real books?” I usually hit them with facts about romantic fiction sales, as well as the intelligent and well-educated women who write and read the genre. This last week I had one woman tell me she read my book and was surprised that it had a plot. That one rolled off my back. The next one was when I was waiting for Twinkle Toes to get dressed after dance so we could leave. One of the other dance moms asked how the book was going and the lady sitting next to me said “Oh you wrote Romeo, Romeo. I read it.” I thanked her and said that I hoped she enjoyed it. She gave me a funny look and said, “I usually don’t read those books, but it was cute.” I just smiled and said “Thanks, I think.” But Friday the 13th, I was left speechless. And for those who know me, speechless is not a state with which I’m familiar. It was a first.

I was at my daughter’s middle school to see her accept her entrée into the Honor Society. Yay! For me, it was a proud moment. For my youngest, it was all about the doughnuts the kids received after they shook the principal’s hand and were given their certificate of achievement and the highly coveted bumper sticker. After wearing her doughnut, and my taking three, count them, three napkins to clean her face off, she left the cafeteria with napkin lint covering her smiling, chubby face.

The eighth graders piled in so I got my things together to leave when a woman I used to see at the gym arrived. I’m tempted to call her by name, but I won’t because I’m not quite that mean. She asked why I hadn’t been to the gym. So I explained about my crazy life—home schooling Twinkle Toes, driving three hours a day, yada, yada, yada. Then she asked if I was still writing. Since I’m always prepared—I’m married to an ex-boy scout, after all—I whip out my beautiful bookmark, which has all three of my book covers on it. Surprised, she said, “You have three books out?” I nodded and told her I was working on my fourth. By this time, most of the 8^th grade had come in and their proud parents surrounded us. Gym Woman waves to everyone in the vicinity, and let me tell you, the place was packed, and at the top of her voice she says, “Robin writes trashy romances. I mean filthy, smutty, trashy romances.”

KLUNK – There went the front axel. I was now the center of attention, and I didn’t know what the heck to say. Then she asked why I didn’t get a real job, like teaching English. Thank God another woman who had a functioning brain stopped and asked me for one of my bookmarks. I handed her one. The wonderful woman looked at it, “You wrote Romeo, Romeo?” I nodded, still speechless. “Didn’t Romeo, Romeo win several awards?” By this time, I found my voice and said, “Yes, it did.” That’s when she turned to Gym Woman and smiled. “It’s so nice to meet an award winning author. I can’t wait for her next book.”

I’m sure that woman will be sainted in the near future. I thanked her and noticed that Gym Woman was nowhere to be found. I spent the rest of the day stewing about Gym Woman and I’ve realized something. While it felt like I hit a huge pot hole, I realized it was really only one more bump in the road. There will always be those who try to knock people down, but as a very good friend of mine said “They can’t knock you down unless you’re up there in the first place.” I got a lot of writing done that day just to spite Gym Woman. I wrote a fabulous fight scene and pictured her face the whole time I was doing it.

Sometimes the bumps in the road can be more than just a pain in the ass. They can cause emotions. You can decide whether you are going to let those bumps lead to something positive or allow them to defeat and damage you like a pot hole might your car. How you choose to look at them is entirely up to you. If I didn’t have a book due, I may have cleaned my whole house. That’s what I used to do whenever I got a mad-on. Anger is a very powerful motivator, as long as you use it for your own good. You can let things eat at you and fester, or you can turn all that power and emotion into something wonderful. In my case, it was a fight scene and believe me, it was one of the most satisfying fight scenes I’ve ever written.

So how do you handle your bumps in the road?

Romance and Halloween.  Not so much, right?  Think again.  If costume-less teenaged punks sinking their meaty fists into your candy bowl sounds less than appealing, grab your loved one tomorrow and try one of these ideas:

A Twilight/Midnight Graveyard Picnic – Arrange to meet there, if you dare.

A Walk in the Woods – Take along a blanket and flashlight and find the perfect spot to swap ghost stories or Halloween memories.

Fright Night at the Movies – A standby, but who can argue with popcorn, candy and many, many opportunities to clutch your loved one?

Secret Costumes – Arrive at a party or large club where everyone will be in costume, but don’t tell each other what you’ll be.  Find each other through clues of body language or behavior-the way they dance, move, speak to others, drink.

Costume Party for Two – no elaboration needed. 

Haunted Bedroom – Stage a halloween bedroom using candles, black rose petals, spider webs and red wine. 

Midnight Pumpkin Patch - Carve a few pumpkins long after the trick or treaters have gone to bed, spread autumn leaves on a blanket in the backyard, light the jack-o-lanterns and have a picnic of wine or dessert.

Moonlight Maze – Corn field mazes aren’t just for kids.  Let the moon guide you and your loved one, no flashlights allowed.  Be sure to bring a blanket and a thermos filled with your favorite hot drink to share.

Who Needs Marshmellows – when you have pumpkin seeds?  Why not secret away to a place you can build a campfire, roast seeds and read Edgar Allen Poe stories?

Love Letter or Poem – Write a love poem about all the ways your life would be scary without your special someone in it.  Burn the paper’s edges and roll it up with twine or black ribbon.  Found haunted love poems work well, too.  Or, carve out a special message to your loved one, one letter per pumpkin, and line his or her walkway with them.

What’s the most romantic way you’ve ever celebrated Halloween?