Robyn Carr most definitely is one of those authors, and she's here at RWA celebrating the news of her mega-mammoth deal struck with Harlequin/MIRA -- a sweet deal for Carr, but a sa-weeter one for we fans of her Virgin River novels. Virgin River, where the men are hot, honorable and out of uniform -- um, you know, they're mostly retired military -- who hook up with these really cool chicks who're smart and strong, some always, some in ways that end up surprizing them.
Anywayz, for the next three years, Robyn'll be releasing 3 back2back (B2B) Virgin River novels each spring! Now, back2backs rock because their release means we readers don't have to wait a year between books like back in the old days -- like, say, 2005. So, we'll get more VR, more of some of the best heroes in romance, and more super emotionally charged love-and-life story like this excerpt from Robyn's latest VR, "Temptation Ridge ."
Today at RWA National, reader fans of Carr's VR series who helped create her 1200-member-strong "Jack's Bar" chat room -- named for the restaurant/bar in fictional Virgin River that's, according to Carr, "kind of a communication central' --gathered to fete Carr. The online members of Jack's Bar, led by a VR fan, the ebullient Ing, have created a positive, supportive place for readers not only to talk about Carr's VR books, but other favorite romance.
"We don't have a lot of rules [at Jack's Bar chat room]," says Carr, "But one is no trashing of books or authors -- if you can't recommend a book, it needn't be mentioned. Of course it's not required that you like everything you read -- that's why there's chocolate and vanilla! But criticisms are polite and respectful."
Carr brings that same style of empathy and consideration to the way she deals the relationships in her Virgin River novels. Yet while the 'moral tone' obviously is steeped in straight-and-narrow do-the-right-thing in the old-school sense of the term, you'd best believe there's some pretty hawt doin' of the right thang goin' on in Virgin River: where the men are men, and the women, well, think the men look great out of uniform.
