February 2021 Book of the Month Giveaway

March 14, 2021 04:06 PM Posted by juliannadouglas

I read half a dozen books during the month of February, but out of those, only one romance rose to the five-star level for me to feature it here. It was written by an author who’s been on my favorites list for over two decades, but who, oddly enough, I have not featured before. It’s a pirate-y, historical, Regency-era romantic comedy about Nathan and Sara, who were married as children, a command that was handed down by the king, himself, as a way to bring peace between their families who’ve been at odds since the medieval era. Nathan was only fourteen at the time, and Sara a mere four years old. Their wedding is shown in the prologue and their first meeting is adorably sweet with little Sara placing her full trust in Nathan even then. Since then, they’ve lived separate lives, but Sara has dreamed of the day that Nathan will come to whisk her away. Needing the money that fulfilling the marriage contract will eventually bring him, Nathan finally shows up fourteen years later, intending to collect his bride and do just that, but with no designs on falling in love. However, Sara confounds him at every turn with her sweet, generous spirit and annoys the hell out of him when she brings one calamity after another upon his ship. But soon, he can no longer imagine his life without her, even though the word “love” isn’t exactly in his vocabulary.

more

Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways

Tags: Julie Garwood


My Introduction to Romance Novels

October 11, 2016 02:52 PM Posted by juliannadouglas

An integral part of my journey to becoming a romance author was my introduction to the romance genre. Throughout my life, even as a child, I was always drawn to fairy tales and other romanticized stories. When it came to movies, many of my favorites were Disney classics like Snow White and Cinderella. And no matter what medium the story came in, the part I liked the best was when characters fell in love and (hopefully) lived happily ever after. So I guess it’s no surprise that when presented with my first romance novels, I eagerly devoured them and immediately begged for more.

The first romances I recall reading were in high school when I was probably about fifteen or sixteen years old. I went to a small, private Christian school that was primarily self-taught. They didn’t have much of a library to speak of, but they did have a bookshelf in the main classroom with a few titles on it. We were welcome to borrow books from it if we finished our classwork. I was a bit of an overachiever and nearly always finished my work before the end of the day, so out came the books with which I happily immersed my imagination for the remainder of my time at school.

more

Categories: Slices of Life, Writing

Tags: Barbara Cartland, Janette Oke, Julie Garwood, June Masters Bacher, Little House on the Prairie, Outlander