Showing results by narrator "Natalie Duke" in All Categories

What makes a romance novel a romance? Writing a well-structured romance isn't the same as writing any other genre - something the popular novel and screenwriting guides don't address. The romance arc is made up of its own story beats. Told in conversational (and often irreverent) prose, Romancing the Beat is like sitting down to coffee with romance editor and author Gwen Hayes while she explains story structure - the way she does with her clients, some of whom are regular inhabitants of the best-seller lists.

Raised by her three overbearing brothers, Scarlett is a hell-raising tomboy with a tool belt. A tornado stirring up trouble everywhere she goes. Her favorite pastimes? Drinking any man under the table and two-stepping. But she has zero interest in love. Scarlett’s only being neighborly when she claims her sexy next-door neighbor as her new pet project.

Gravel-voiced Gibson Bodine takes his lone wolf image seriously. His one love - besides starting a good brawl - is sitting on a rinky-dink stage in a backwoods bar playing guitar and singing about things he’ll never have. When a video of him playing goes viral, Gibson ignores the unwanted attention. He’s got bigger things to worry about. Like the bomb his half-brother’s mom just dropped on him. And the fallout from the memento he’s been carrying around for 13 years. But one night in a bar, 50 miles from home, he meets her. And she changes everything.

On a serene night in 1953, Sally Mason, a dedicated wife and mother of two, drives a twisting road on her way home from night school. Suddenly, a mysterious bluish-white light descends over the road. Terrified, Sally slams on the brakes. After a flash of bright light nearly blinds her, she passes out, awakening to the persistent knock of a police officer on her car window. When she sees the officer and remembers her frightening experience, she screams and faints, and is rushed to the hospital.

If you can’t stand the heat, don’t fall for a firefighter.... Fire Chief Lincoln Reed is known for his heroics in the fire department and in the bedroom. Life is a never-ending good time. Until she lands in the middle of the accident scene he’s working...and then his backyard. Too bad she’s immune to flirty first responders. Flight trauma surgeon Mackenzie O’Neil is on a crash course with burnout. She’s got a scar on her face and a shake in her hands. A temporary job as a small-town family physician is just the prescription. She’ll learn to meditate. Sleep more.

Sebastian Stremmel doesn’t need another headache. He has enough of his own without Sara Shapiro, the noisy new reconstructive surgeon, stomping all around his surgical wing with her chippy, chirpy cheerfulness. But Sebastian doesn’t usually get what he wants. No one gets under his skin like Sara - so much so a heated “debate” and an exam room left in shambles later, they land themselves in eight weeks of hospital-mandated conflict resolution counseling. Now they’re forced to fight fair…which quickly leads them to playing dirty when no one’s looking.

I'm one scrappy wizard. As someone with barely a flicker of magic, I've spent my life being mocked and surviving fights with bullies. But when my parents die in an accident, and I find myself responsible for our whole wizard house and family, I know my usual tactics aren't going to cut it. The situation veers from bad to catastrophic when my backstabbing cousin stages a coup and takes my family hostage. I barely manage to flee, but the only supernatural willing to help me is Killian Drake - the most feared vampire in the region.

Grace came to Longtooth, Alaska, looking for a safe place to hide. All she wanted was to keep her head down, do her job, and enjoy the peace and quiet. But there's no peace to be found once she meets Longtooth's cantankerous bush pilot. Caleb Kinoyit is surly and rude and mean. He's also, unfortunately, the most attractive man Grace has ever met. And as the long, Alaskan winter nights stretch on, she finds herself warming to his rough charm just as much as she's falling for the beauty of her new home.

Six weeks ago, Leah Turner snuck into a witch high-society masked ball and promised to abide by two rules: 1. Don't draw attention to yourself. 2. Don't talk to anyone. As a human, Leah took a huge risk by even attending—and by talking to the enigmatic warlock who had her wanting to rip off her mask. But this Cinderella had to leave the ball before anyone discovered her secret.

I'm Levi Buchanan, and until five years ago, I thought the legend of my family's curse was a load of crazy, Southern nonsense. No curse can make you fall in love at first sight. No curse can force a true, deep, passionate, all-consuming love that will haunt you all the days of your life.

Luna da Rosa is America's vegan best friend. When she's not changing the cosmetics industry, she's dazzling her online fans with kombucha recipes - until Wild Heart is caught in a scandal, destroying her reputation as a cheerful do-gooder. Beck Mason is the prodigal son of Miami's most notorious biker gang. But Beck left his criminal family to start Lucky Dog, rescuing dogs who need the most help...except the surly ex-outlaw never realized leading a struggling nonprofit with a ragtag crew would be so damn hard.

The International Butter Festival has come to town! When Harlow Torrent, part-time journalist and full-time Slip witch stumbles upon a dead body, frozen and drained of blood, she's pulled into a murder mystery. Someone has murdered one of the Butter Festival competitors. Was it Zero Bend, punk sculptor extraordinaire with a history of violence? Perhaps Fusion Swan, a sleazy agent playing the publicity game when his clients meet their untimely end?

Deciding to escape her disaster of a life, Sarah Buchanan takes a temporary position with her company overseas. But that means leaving her dog, Bentley, at home. So when Natalie Fox finds a skinny, terrified dog outside the bakery, the blue-eyed canine becomes the catalyst for a relationship between the two polar opposites. Can two very different women and a dog make a perfect recipe for love?

Reed Richards is brought in on a consult to oversee a privately funded dimension-spanning device...a device that will give wealthy patrons the opportunity to experience interdimensional travel. Never mind that the consortium wants to launch a sweeping endeavor that would be branded as Fantastic Forays, with the world's greatest superhero team receiving a cut of the profits; their brilliant lead scientist, Rachel Hunt, has now discovered a way to safely traverse interspace - the main conduits situated between dimensions - that allows one access to a multitude of realities.

All’s fair in reincarnation and war. You’ve heard the stories of Norse gods: Thor, Odin, Ragnarok...I’m here to tell you they’re all true. I know because I was there...I may have accidentally on purpose triggered a bit of unpleasantness that led to the end of the world, but apparently, it wasn’t the end of me...With a fresh lease on life and a rocking-hot body, I just need one thing: the rune that grants me immortality.

Meg Dawson’s world is turned upside down when her Aunt Penny makes a surprise appearance at the Seattle apartment building she once called home. But hidden within the true reason behind Penny's visit is a mystery that could rock the very foundations of the Morrisey community. During her visit, Penny breathes new life into the beloved Morrisey Masterpiece Classic, an annual building scavenger hunt. Tensions soar and rivalries ignite among the residents, including between Meg and Laurie.

Thor's daddy Odin wants a piece of me, preferably the piece that keeps me breathing. Strange things are afoot at the Asgard Awakening television studio in Los Angeles where my friends and I are about to guest star on the popular program. With a sudden shift in control behind the scenes of the show, mysterious players are arriving on set, and nothing is as it seems. As destructive forces from my past resurface in a disturbing pattern I know all too well, I'm having second thoughts about restarting Ragnarok.

Three years after Courtney McAllister loses her partner in a car accident, she's finally trying to move forward. She's even dated half-heartedly over the past year, but no one is able to penetrate her emotional barricades until she meets aggressive real estate broker Rachel Hart. Despite Rachel's cool facade, Courtney is drawn to her - when she isn't furious with her. Still, despite an undeniable attraction, Courtney has given her heart once and doesn't have room for that kind of love in her life again.

For as long as Meg Dawson can remember, she’s been able to see ghosts. As much as Meg views it as a gift, she’s paid a price her ability; people often find her odd and quiet. Still, she wouldn’t trade her capabilities for anything because they brought her Ripley, her best friend. Having died in the car accident that killed Meg’s mom, Ripley sees it as her duty-after-death to watch over Meg and make sure she has a happy life.

All those years of adolescent fantasies and this was how Bowie Bodine first touched my boobs. And he apologized. Real life was stupid and unfair. Small town deputy Cassidy Tucker’s dating life is a train wreck on repeat. All she ever wanted was a solid partner. A man to share pajamas with. Cassidy’s officially giving up on love and adopting cats. Good thing the cold case disappearance of Callie Kendall is heating up to keep her distracted. Except the investigation is testing her friendship with all the Bodines - Bowie in particular.