My quirky list of literary favorites for summer: Part I

I'm currently residing in that twitchy time period awaiting the arrival of new summer romance novels. Publishers are evil. Nora Roberts even said that she was forced to come up with the pseudonym, J.D. Robb, because she wrote too much and too fast for her publishers. They were stockpiling her manuscripts and miserly doling them out to her readers.

Well, if, in this twilight time of waiting, you have to revisit old favorites, here are a few of mine. Of course, these are subject to change as I read. And I'm unapologetically stuck on a theme: trashy romance. Specifically romantic suspense. What's romance without a little murder/mystery thrown in with hot sweaty sex? (Oops. Did I say that out loud?)

Favorite male character in a trashy romance novel: Ford Sawyer in Tribute by Nora Roberts. He is a talented graphic cartoon artist/novelist. He is totally "geeky" in that he can't handle power tools but completely understands Cilla. Just read it.

Favorite female character in a trashy romance novel: Callie Dunbrook in Birthright by Nora Roberts. A little empathy here, because Callie meets her birth mother.

Favorite novel in a Southern setting: Envy by Sandra Brown. Great plots twists and turns. Great read and also great audiobook if you're travelling. Again, just read it.

Favorite book on audio/Best audiobook narrator: Peter MacNicol narrator of Beach Music by Pat Conroy. Pat Conroy is an icon among Southern authors but is sometimes difficult for me to read. MacNicol does an absolutely masterful job of voice characterization making this audiobook memorable. Peter MacNicol was in Ghostbusters II, Chicago Hope, and, more recently, Numbers, etc.

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