Free A Valentine for Harlequin's Anniversary by Catherine Mann

creating and making real something that started off as a flash of imagination—and being able to share that outcome with others. It’s a very special kind of magic.
    — Tessa Radley
www.tessaradley.com
    #45
    What keeps me writing? The answer for me is quite simple. I’m a storyteller and I can no more stop telling stories than I can stop breathing. When one happens, so will the other.
    During the darkest time, writing has come to my rescue. After the death of my sister. My father. My own bout with breast cancer (7 years cancer free!!). Writing gives me a way to bring light to the darkness. To change a sad ending into a happily-ever-after one.
    I try and choose the books I read with care. Books live inside me long after that final page is turned. They resonate for weeks, or months, or sometimes years after the last word is read. I don’t want to store books inside me that increase the darkness. I want the light. The stories I’m driven to create, the characters that people them, that satisfying ending, all bring me such pleasure! And writing them—continuing to write them—allows me to share the good and the positive and the joyous side of life with those who read them.
    And that’s what keeps me writing.

    — Day Leclaire
www.dayleclaire.com
    #46
    Like a lot of authors, I thought this would be an easy question to answer. And like the rest, the more I thought about it, the more difficult it became. Since I’m what might be called “decision-impaired,” I couldn’t choose just one thing that keeps me writing, so I made a list:
    Sanity: I can go for maybe two weeks without writing before I start to feel depressed. I could still be working on my career—doing research, promotion, appearances—but if I’m not putting lives on a page, I’m not living. I get cranky and sluggish and feel like a generally useless person, or like an animal living out of its native habitat. (However, if I had to spend three weeks not writing in, say, Fiji, it would certainly ease my sadness.)
    Peace: I love drama! Without stories as an outlet for the fantasy life inside my head, I would undoubtedly wreak havoc in my own life. So writing keeps me out of jail and in the good graces of my family and friends.
    Curiosity: Though I often make a loose outline before writing (publishers usually require it), I never really know how the story will end until the words are on the page. I have to finish writing a book for the same reasons I have to finish reading one—to find out what happens.
    Search for meaning: Though it might sound like high-falutin’ philosophical talk, writing provides meaning in two ways: 1) it gives my existence significance beyond basic survival. Most writers and other artists, I think, believe that there’s more to life than the daily drudge. 2) By creating and finishing a story, I discover what I believe about life and love. Every book is a search for truth.
    Quest for immortality: We all like to think that some part of us will live on after we die. It’s part of every creative impulse, whether it be making babies or writing novels or starting a business. I have no illusions that my books will someday be shelved next to Mark Twain’s or Jane Austen’s (for one thing, they’re nowhere near me in the alphabet). But if my words have touched another person’s heart, if they hold my stories in their mind even for only a day or two, to me that’s a form of immortality.
    Making readers happy: In the midst of hellacious revisions or deadline panic, a heartfelt fan mail can give me the strength and confidence to keep going. So if you’re ever wondering whether you should take a moment to write an author whose book you loved, just know that your e-mail can turn a bad day into a great one!
    — Jeri Smith-Ready
www.jerismithready.com
    #47

    When the Luna imprint was born, I was thrilled. I knew exactly what I wanted to write. Stories had come to me when I was much younger, even before I started writing seriously, about