Meet Publisher/Senior Editor Sandy Coleman
About Me Favorite Romance Novels
Thanks to a small town librarian with very good taste, I was introduced to the incredible novels of Georgette Heyer and to the wonderful world of romance the summer I turned 13. Like a lot of fellow romance lovers, I’ve never looked back.
Spending way too long in the terminally hip advertising trenches as a copywriter and creative director, romance was always my escape from the world of deadlines and backbiting. These days I’m on my own as a freelance ad writer and incredibly delighted to publish, edit, and review for All About Romance.
As a professional writer, albeit one with the 30-second attention span of a true Gemini, I am in awe of those incredibly disciplined and talented individuals who actually create the novels we love so much. My personal favorites are many and varied (as evidenced here) but I’ll admit to a special fondness for Judith Ivory, Connie Brockway, Loretta Chase, Lisa Kleypas, and Jennifer Crusie.
Although I spend most of my time living in Washington, D.C. tending to the many needs of a very spoiled Ragdoll cat, my passion for Regency-set romance, Jane Austen, and Shakespeare has also led to an equal passion for London. I try to spend at least one week there every year catching up on the theatre and the very cool shopping.
Absolute Favorite
All Through the Night by Connie Brockway
Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
Bliss by Judy Cuevas
Favorite Classic
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Favorites by Mood
Comfort Reads:
Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Bridal Favors by Connie Brockway
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
Guilty Pleasure:
Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught
Personal Reading Tastes Favorites by Sub-Genre
What I’m a sucker for in a book: Men who are a rock in an emergency (think Max Bhagat in Over the Edge); men with a strong protective streak; mature, self-reliant heroines; heroes who cheerfully accept themselves for what they are; heroes who play the “goofball” but are really fiercely brilliant; younger man heroes; and, of course, the classic good-girl, bad-boy combo.
What I don’t particularly care for in a book: Any heroine the writer describes as a (saucy, feisty, etc.) “miss;” sexually inexperienced heroes (with rare exceptions); first-person stories; and religious themes or overtones.
What drives me absolutely nuts in a book: Overly contrived plot devices (the heroine vowing to make the hero pay for a small insult her by making him fall in love with her, at which point she will jilt him and leave him forever desolate); sheltered, inexperienced, baby girl heroines; alpha-jerk heroes who don’t learn their lesson in the course of the book; and heroes who vow to make all women pay for the treacherous behavior of their ex-wife/girlfriend.
Favorite Romance Authors
All-Time Favorite Romance Authors
Judith Ivory
Connie Brockway Loretta Chase
Jennifer Crusie
Best Discovery/Buried Treasure Authors
Judy Cuevas Sherry Thomas
My Biggest Glom
Suzanne Brockmann
Medieval:
A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
Katherine by Anya Seton
Traditional Regency:
Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
European Historical:
All Through The Night by Connie Brockway
Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase
Untie My Heart by Judith Ivory
Bliss by Judy Cuevas
American Historical:
Silver Flame by Susan Johnson
Contemporary:
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
In the Midnight Rain by Ruth Wind
Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Category:
The Playboy Prince by Nora Roberts
The Danver’s Touch by Elizabeth Lowell
Alternate Reality:
The Dream Thief by Shana Abe
Favorite Characters Favorites by Plot Type
Favorite Hero
Rupert Carsington, Mr. Impossible
Jamie Fraser, Outlander
Bonny Tom Denton, Heaven, Texas
Blue Reynard, In the Midnight Rain
Favorite Heroine
Claire Fraser, Outlander
Emma Hotchkiss, Untie My Heart
Marie duGard, Dance
Most Tortured Hero
Derek Craven, Dreaming of You
Brandon Carlyle, Darkling I Listen
Strongest Heroine
Claire Fraser, Outlander
Favorite Couple
Claire and Jamie Fraser, Outlander
Best Villain
Sebastien de Saint Vallier, Bliss
Romantic Suspense:
Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann
Cabin or Road:
Out of Control by Suzanne Brockmann
Funny:
Bridal Favors by Connie Brockway
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
Sexy:
Untie My Heart by Judith Ivory
In the Midnight Rain by Ruth Wind
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
Forbidden by Susan Johnson
Least-Favorites
Most Disappointing Book
The Indiscretion by Judith Ivory
Worst Book
Daniel’s Gift by Barbara Freethy
Purple Prose-iest Book
Across a Wild Sea by Sascha Lord
Authors I Have Given Up On
Susan Johnson
Amanda Quick
Authors Others Love That I Don’t
Carla Kelly
Christine Feehan
Most Annoying Lead Character
Katie, Have Glass Slippers, Will Travel
Non-Romance Favorites
Favorite Author
Jane Austen
William Shakespeare
Favorite Book
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Favorite Classic Novel
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Favorite Mystery
Innocent Blood by P.D. James
Favorite Women’s Fiction
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
Favorite YA Book
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Favorite SF/Horror/Fantasy
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
Book Most Often Reread
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice