Romancing South Tampa

June 15, 11:32 AMTampa Books ExaminerJulianne Draper

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author Kathy Carmichael/photo J. Draper

Saturday afternoon, for Tampa area Romance novel fans, the Borders Books and Music in South Tampa was the place to be, as a group of ten local authors—Kathy Carmichael, author of Hot Flash, Elissa Wilds, author of Between Light and Dark, Terri Garey, author of You’re the One that I Haunt, Julie Leto, author of Kiss of the Phantom, Diana Peterfreund, author of Tap and Gown; Debby Mayne, author of Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Roxanne St. Claire, author of Now You Die, Virginia Henley author of The Decadent Duke, Karen Rose, author of Kill for Me, and last but certainly not least, Joan Johnston, author of A Stranger’s Game, came out to sign their books, and of course, meet and greet their fans. 

IAuthor Terri Garey/photo:Julianne Draper

Though the authors were tucked towards the back of the store almost immediately as one came through the doors the excited buzz could be heard, the charge of joyous energy cutting the usual calm of the bookstore. Even before 2:00pm rolled around, fans were already milling around the signing area; and it seemed, the writers were happy to get started, no matter an official time, milling around talking to each visiting reader, or ensconced in their name-plated places along the table, trading pens for signed books, or cheerfully standing for pictures with their fans—or in some cases, fellow writers, and a reporter or two. The women helpfully pointed even a curious perusing patron to fellow writers according to the patron’s tastes—Terri Garey pointing readers to fellow Paranormal author Elissa Wilds; YA author Diana Peterfreund pointing out Debby Mayne; or Romantic suspense author Roxanne St. Claire suggesting Virginia Henley, or Debby Mayne; Karen Rose suggesting a chat with Romantic comedy author and mistress of the whole affair, Kathy Carmichael, Kathy sending her readers around to check out the others, and so on.  . The ladies even offered a glimpse into their own lives, for instance, Ms. Carmichael told me her next book is to be a mystery, and that she’s very excited about it; while Diana Peterfreund told how she had trouble selling every short story she ever wrote before hitting on her popular Secret Society Girls, the first in what became the Ivy League series; and yet now, her latest title is a book of essays by some rather famous authors, including the ever-popular Meg Cabot; Ms. Wilds chatted about her life in general, and her experiences with the industry, and her latest title Between Dark and Light; Ms. Garey told of how, while it seemed most of the paranormal authors focused on vampires almost exclusively, she made a maverick decision to write ghosts into her Nikki Styx series—and how it paid off fantastically.

Author Elissa Wilds/photo: Julianne Draper

One writer, erotica author Wendi Darlin, was not on the signing queue, but simply sitting by to keep the girls company; even so, Ms. Darlin took the time to relate how much she blushed when she wrote her first . . . (ahem!) anatomically correct love scene! 
 

Author Diana Peterfreund/photo: J Draper

In short, all were very open, very encouraging to the inspiring writers in the crowd, and genuinely enjoying themselves, it seems, as much as did their readers. If you missed it, you missed out on a fantastic day with some very talented local ladies, but hopefully, there will be another such event to which to look forward, sometime soon. Until then, do check out their homepages, their books, and of course, the Tampa Area Romance Authors, and share the love...