All About Love February 6, 2012

Media Monday discussion today follows this piece by author Robin Black in Beyond the Margins: To “To MFA Or Not To MFA, That Is The Question.“

It’s romance week in #litchat. This week’s guest host for our annual romance genre chat is Gayle Callen, who writing as Julia Latham and Emma Cane, has written 18 historical, 6 Medieval, and now a contemporary romance. Her latest novel, A Town Called Valentine, is the first in a new series of small town love stories. Callen grew up reading and soon discovered that she liked to write passionate stories of teenagers in space. Her love of passionate stories has never gone away, contributing to the impressive collection of books she’s published under her three pen names. Now that her three children are grown, Gayle loves spending time crocheting and singing (although not necessarily at the same time), and hiking and snowshoeing alongside her husband Jim and two rambunctious dogs Apollo and Uma. Gayle will participate in the #litchat discussion using her pen name Emma Cane (@EmmaCane).

In A Town Called Valentine, Emily Murphy never thought she’d return to her mom’s rustic hometown in the Colorado Mountains. But after her marriage in San Francisco falls apart, leaving her penniless and heartsick, she returns to her old family home to find a new direction for her life. On her first night back, though, a steamy encounter with handsome rancher Nate Thalberg is not the fresh start she had in mind. Nate has good reason not to trust Emily—he’s no stranger to betrayal. Besides, she’s only there to sell her family’s old property and move back out. But as Nate and Emily begin working side-by-side to restore her time-worn building and old family secrets change Emily’s perception of herself, both are about to learn how difficult it is to hide from love in a place known far and wide for romance, family ties, and happily-ever-afters: a town called Valentine.

Follow Gayle Callen as Emma Cane on Twitter: @EmmaCane.