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When I said I was revisiting some beloved “old” friends, you probably thought I was going to drop by Christina’s or Connie’s for coffee, but I’m actually referring to the fact that Bantam is re-releasing two of my “classic” romances--A WHISPER OF ROSES and THIEF OF HEARTS today at a very special price of only $4.99.  When I talk about my books on-line or elsewhere, I realize that I often sound like either an incurable egotist or a raving lunatic.  (Shut up, Liz.) Because when somebody gushes, “Oh, I just loved that hero!”, I can’t help but gush right back, “Oh me too!  I absolutely adored him!” Or when somebody writes, “What a wonderful story!”, I catch myself sighing wistfully and thinking, “Yes, it was, wasn’t it?”

But I don’t love my stories because I wrote them.  I love them because I lived them.  I feel every emotion my characters are feeling.  When they laugh, I laugh.  When they hurt, I cry.  When my heroine falls in love with my hero, I fall in love right along with her.  I yearn, I ache, I burn.  As I write, their memories become my own and to me that’s one of the greatest blessings of this profession.  This is why it’s such a joy when a book gets reprinted.  When you can not only revisit your beloved old friends but introduce them to some of the new friends--your treasured readers--that you’ve made along the way.

I still keenly remember writing one wildly dramatic scene in A WHISPER OF ROSES.  (If you’ve read the book, you’ll probably know exactly what scene I’m talking about.) The theme from LAST OF THE MOHICANS was blaring on the stereo.  I was writing and sobbing so hard I could barely see the monitor through my tears a la Joan Wilder in Romancing the Stone.  I did the dastardly deed I knew I had to do, finished the scene with a flourish of my fingers on the keyboard, then jumped up and shouted, “Oh Lord, that was SO much fun!” See what I mean?  Oh wait...I was trying to convince you that I WASN’T a lunatic, wasn’t I? 

Morgan MacDonnell, the hero of A WHISPER OF ROSES broke quite a few molds for me.  As some of you may have noticed, I tend to favor lean heroes with broad shoulders and narrow hips.  But Morgan is a strapping fellow--a brawny Highlander with a heart nearly as large as he is.  He’s also the youngest of my heroes but since he’s been herding his wild band of outlaw clansman since he was twelve, I can promise you that he’s every inch a man.  It’s no wonder that Sabrina Cameron first falls in love with him when she’s only six and he’s twelve.  I don’t know what it is about those wild Highland lads but I’ve never been able to resist them and judging from their continued popularity to this day, most readers can’t either.  (Jamie Fraser anyone?)

Since I don’t want to be the only inmate at the asylum, does this ever happen to you as readers?  Do the characters you read about ever become as real to you as your own friends and family?  Is re-reading a favorite novel like visiting dear old friends?  And just what is it about those Highland men?  Who are YOUR favorite Highland heroes? 

Visit the February Contest Page at http://www.teresamedeiros.com for a chance to win an autographed hardcover set of AFTER MIDNIGHT and THE VAMPIRE WHO LOVED ME!  Tune in to Squawk next Monday when Teresa will be discussing THIEF OF HEARTS, bodyguards, pirates and other favorite fantasies!