I’m trying to play it cool. I really am. But LOOK HOW PRETTY THIS IS YOU GUYS:

Ok, I’m not playing it cool. I’ve never been especially cool, and the first sighting of a new book is enough to drive me into ungrammatical fits of delight. I just got the advance copies of my September romance, It Takes Two to Tangle, and WOW. Isn’t this book design lovely? Even the spine is a work of art. I can’t thank the Sourcebooks art department enough.

It Takes Two to Tangle is the first book in my new “Matchmaker” trilogy–so called because the characters try to matchmake for one another, and lo, nothing goes as they expect. The hero of this book, Henry, is a wounded ex-soldier/artist. That made him a real challenge to write, which is probably why I wound up liking him so much! (The fact that he’s a lefty by default only adds to his appeal.) And the heroine, Frances? Ohhh, she’s a sly one. Want a taste of the story? You can read Chapter 1 on my site here.

The Giveaway News:

As you might guess from the excitable post title, one of you can win an advance copy of It Takes Two to Tangle right here on this post. To enter, just leave a comment letting me know something you like to see in romance cover art. Or if nothing specific comes to mind, just tell us your favorite kind of cookie.

This giveaway is open internationally. Entries in the form of comments on this post will be accepted until noon ET on Thursday, May 23. (After that, you can still leave a comment, but it won’t be included in the drawing.) One winner will be chosen at random from among all comments submitted by the close of the giveaway. The winner will be contacted by email, so please submit an email address as part of your comment. It won’t be publicly displayed or shared.

And psst: More giveaways will be coming soon, so keep an eye on this site, my Facebook page, or Twitter (I’m @TheresaRomain) for all the updates.

Thank you so much for stopping by, dear readers! You guys are the best. I hope you enjoy meeting Henry and Frances.

That’s an exclamation, not an order. The cover of SEASON FOR SURRENDER is here, and it’s an absolute beauty.

I owe the Kensington art department a virtual high-five and a size XL thank-you for this cover. It’s got the beautiful colors and subtle holiday hints of the SEASON FOR TEMPTATION cover, plus…well, Louisa looks like she’s up to something, doesn’t she? Which she most definitely is.

My heartfelt thanks to bestselling author Julianne MacLean, who offered that lovely quote for the front cover. Julianne’s books are a complete joy to read, and I’m very honored by her kind words. (And her first Regency title will be released in just a few more weeks—watch for BE MY PRINCE on April 24!)

No doubt you all want to run out and pre-order 15 copies of SEASON FOR SURRENDER? Well, you can…sort of. There’s a little online glitch right now, and the book is listed as Season for Seduction (not Surrender) if you look it up on a book retail site. (Like this.) It should be corrected soon. In the meantime, feel free to seduce as well as surrender.

Since I chucked a Spice Girls reference into this post title, here’s a picture of me dressed as Baby Spice from…oh…1998? I guess this is my atonement for not wearing a costume yesterday. (No, that is very extremely not my real hair.)

But more important than my youthful escapades are: my adult escapades. I’m visiting some fun and fascinating new sites this week, and this time Mr. R is coming with me.

First off, my dear friend Spiceaholic (not her real name), who runs the delicious food and cooking blog Spice’s Bites, is hosting me for historic food talk, recipes, and a book giveaway! Stop by today or tomorrow and share some foodie insights of your own, and be entered to win a signed copy of SEASON FOR TEMPTATION.

Today, Mr. R is accompanying me to A Writer’s Salon, the blog of “fiery tales” romance writer Lila DiPasqua. But it’s not Lila doing the interview–it’s her husband! Come see what these two romance husbands have to say to one another. I admit, I learned a few things from Mr. R’s interview. Like how he saw himself on our second date…oh, you’d better just come read it for yourself. Another copy of SEASON’s up for grabs there!

So there you have it: spicy food and spicy reads. It’s a new month, so spice up your life!

OH HAI WAIT: I know that would have been a totally smooth ending for this post, but I have to share some fantastic news. It has been a week since my last confession, and since then–SEASON FOR TEMPTATION’s gotten a sequel! My publisher, Kensington Zebra, will be publishing SEASON FOR SURRENDER (Louisa’s story) in October 2012. Hip hooray! Nice Nice!

I know, you’re all disappointed that it’s been a while since I directed you to a stack of dusty tomes with tiny print columns of excruciating minutiae.  Well, maybe next week.  This week, I’ve popped into the 21st century temporarily and have set up a public Page on Facebook.  Why?  Mainly because my fabulicious friend Ragan just redid the masthead on this site (nice, huh?) and I wanted another place on the web to have a picture of my giant pumpkin head.

Ok, not really.  It’s mainly because I started noticing the way I liked to click around online, especially on Facebook.  Usually I just want to swoop by and see if my favorite authors have news, and that’s easier to do if they’ve got everything public.  Friending someone on a private profile is a big commitment.  Often you can’t see their Wall before you do, so you don’t even know if they’re going to be a fun friend or if they’re just going to use the profile to count down the weeks until their book is out.  (Note:  I am a totally fun friend.  And the answer is 56.)

So, now you can preview me.  You can go see my Page and decide whether I seem like someone you want to virtually hang out with.  If the answer is yes, feel free to post something interesting on the Wall.  My definition of interesting is extremely broad — from cane toad purses to zombie science to morbid 19th century poems.  And, of course, books books books.

So I’m sure we can find something to talk about for the next 56 weeks. And then:  the aggressive book pimping starts!

Some of you may know, I have been cooking some news about The Viscount’s Dilemma for a while.  It’s not quiiiite ready yet.  But when it is done, it will be oh-so-delicious.

So let’s keep dragging out this cooking metaphor, since I haven’t cooked actual food in a really long time and I might forget the terminology otherwise.  I’ve revamped the TVD page on the website, and in its honor, I now present for you a Recipe for a Disastrous Engagement (aka a few more hints about what’s in the book):

Combine:

*One viscount

*Two stepsisters

*One repulsive family scandal

*No Christmas pudding

*One emergency backup pudding (with thumb-shaped hole)

*Three unsuitable suitors

*Four dear-lord-what-were-they-thinking Twelfth Night costumes

*An uneviscerated fish

*Too many hands of whist for anyone’s good

*Several thousand books

*And one aunt who sees all, knows all, and says even more than she sees or knows.

Mix into a sad crush and stir into Town at an inopportune time.

Enjoy!