Women's Fiction & Contemporary Romance

Casey Dawes

A note from the author:  All writing is re-writing.  I’ve made some adjustments to the characters and plot since I began this piece. If you’ve read The Bodice Rips on page 25 before, you might go back and start here.  If you’ve never read any of it…you might start at … Read More

    “Oh, m’lady,” the shop girl squealed. “Yer all wet!” Sophie glanced in a nearby mirror.  She did look a bit bedraggled. Good thing her aunt couldn’t see her. “I’ll dry,” she pointed out to the shop girl. “I’ve come to see what can be done about this.” Sophie thrust … Read More

     An hour later Jane was still sitting at the coffee shop, entranced by Michael’s stories of hobnobbing with royalty when he worked with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. She didn’t know how much of what he said was true and how much was his imagination. “I wish I could … Read More

Jane stared at the rain pouring out her own window. She longed to follow her imagination to that English country stable, throw herself over a horse and ride for hours. But there was no horse in a stable waiting for her. She was a city girl, always had been.      … Read More

PAGE ONE Sophie stared out the window at the pouring rain. It was all it ever did in London—rain. She was bored. At home she would have been able to wander into the kitchen and chat with the cook. But not here. Her Aunt Beatrice insisted she act like a … Read More

CHAPTER ONE Jane stared at the instructions she’d received from her latest publisher. They had to be kidding! There really was a formula for romance…at least from this company. Everything was detailed: heroine introduced on page one; hero on page three, first kiss on page ten… She sighed. She’d committed … Read More

Life’s enormities threatento overwhelm happiness’ measured blooms. Death-indicating cholesterol is balanced by crisp fresh-picked salad greens. The stocks go down and the bonds, actually do go up. Aging nerve loss, painful physical therapy and a perfect piano scale. A lover’s careless thought signals a universe of friends that it’s time … Read More

I think a lot about words and all their subtle meanings, especially in this world of black and white thinking.  (Or is it red and blue thinking?) As  romance novel writer, I want love to triumph over all impossibilities. I think most romance novel readers would agree. (Love to hear … Read More

Authors, like everyone selling a product, need to market. They need to tell you about their latest work and they’re usually pretty proud of what they’ve accomplished — with good reason!  With the internet it’s pretty easy to market–and pretty easy to get it wrong. A recent discussion on a … Read More

I just finished the fourth book in Barbara Freethy’s Angel’s Bay series.  I read all four straight and thoroughly enjoyed them. The stories are entertaining and the characters are engaging, but one of the things that I find fun about series like these is the location.  Barbara Freethy is from … Read More