Writers read.  They have to.  They need to.  I remember when I was writing Whispers of the Heart, I had the idea that if I quit reading, I'd have more time for writing.  So, for a month, I deprived myself of reading anything, except for an occasional newspaper or magazine.  At the end of that month, I was the solitary desert traveler, trudging through the sand, parched for the written word.  It was then that I started hearing about other authors who not only read, they read voraciously.  One of my favorite authors, Pat Conroy, reads 200 pages a day, which I find absolutely amazing.

On this page you'll see what I'm currently reading, as well as what other favorites are sitting in my TBR pile. 

In honor of summer (my favorite reading time of year) I'm presenting my Summer Big Book Giveaway Bonanza!  Every few weeks, instead of offering ONE new book from my TBR pile to be given away, I'll offer FOUR!  Throughout the entire summer!  So, check back often, see if you have the same taste in books as me, and submit entries for those you want!

Bachelor Boss
by Christie Ridgway
(a Silhouette Special Edition)

Finding Home
by Marie Ferrarella
(a Harlequin NEXT novel)

Hostile Makeover
by Wendy Wax
(a romantic comedy)

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation*
by Simone Elkeles
(a Young Adult fiction)

* This one's autographed!!

Click here for details on how to WIN these books, free!

The rest of my TBR pile:

Contemporary Romance:

Got Your Number, by Stephanie Bond
Blue Bayou, by JoAnn Ross
Follow the Stars Home, by Luanne Rice
Dear Love Doctor, by Hailey North
Unexpected, by Lori Foster
7 Days and 7 Nights, by Wendy Wax
Lola Carlyle Reveals All, by Rachel Gibson
The Man in the Photograph, by Linda Style
Packing Heat,  by Julie Kistler
Cut to the Chase, by Julie Kistler
Falling Home, by Karen White
Mother of the Bride, by Lynn Michaels
This Must be Love, by Kasey Michaels
2000 Kisses, by Chrstina Skye
Sleeping Arrangements, by Madeleine Wickham
Real Men Sell Bras, by Cathy McDavid
First Year, by Barbara Schnell
Princess in Love, by Meg Cabot
Texas Cooking, by Lisa Wingate
Record Time, by Beverly Brandt
Room Service, by Beverly Brandt
Mother Road, by Dorothy Garlock
Lover's Lane, by Jill Marie Landis
This Way Home, by Marcia King-Gamble
My Spy, by Christina Skye
Return to Oak Valley, by Shirlee Busbee
Still Mr. and Mrs., by Mary McBride
The Woman Most Likely To... by Jennifer Greene
Waves of Fate, by Amy Mistretta
 

Historical Romance:

Tempt Me Twice, by Barbara Dawson Smith
The Bride Thief, by Jacquie D'Alessandro
Highland Bride, by Amanda Scott
Fountain of Secrets, by Josie Litton
Too Wicked to Love, by Barbara Dawson Smith
Texas Star, by Elaine Barbieri
Always in My Heart, by Catherine Anderson
The Independent Bride, by Leigh Greenwood
To Sir Philip With Love, by Julia Quinn
All a Woman Wants, by Patricia Rice
Master of Seduction, by Kinley MacGregor
Yours Until Dawn, by Teresa Medeiros
Hazard, by Jo Beverley
My Fair Lord, by Julie Beard
The Lily and the Sword, by Sara Bennett
The Mackenzies Zach, by Ana Leigh
The Princess and the Wolf, by Karen Kay

Inspirational Romance:

Take My Hand, by Ruth Scofield
Secrets, by Robin Jones Gunn

Romantic Suspense:

Mr. Perfect, by Linda Howard
Lost & Found, by Jayne Ann Krentz
Slow Hands, by Lauren Bach
Snow Eagle, by Julie Casper
Fantasy Lover, by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Women's Fiction:

Heart and Soul, by Sally Mandel
Love in Bloom's, by Judith Arnold
A Married Man, by Catherine Alliott
The Parting Glass, by Emilie Richards

Literary/Mainstream Fiction:

Gramercy Park, by Paul Cohen
Sweet Hush, by Deborah Smith

Anthology:

Always a Bridesmaid,
by Jane Sullivan, Isabel Sharpe, and Julie Kistler

Nonfiction:

One Last Time, by John Edward
How to Be Hot at Sixty, Effie Velardo
Ladies:  A Conjecture of Personalities, by Feather Schwartz Foster
Echoes and Voices, by Albert Johnson