I'm looking for a new Romance writer.

Hi,
I love love love Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood but have exhausted every book written so far by each of them. I've tried Christine Feehan, as she was recommended by a friend. I did like them but they've became a bit 'samey.' I adored the Twilight saga so much I doubt anything else will ever compare. Any ideas? I like strong fleshed out characters. Any help appreciated.

I felt the same way about Christine until I read her Ghostwalker series and that was much better, but if its vamps that you seem to like , J R Ward is for you, she is really good and much more adult than Twlight, Kresley Cole is great too....

Well it was more the fact that I loved Twilight and wanted to try that theme but I do like the sci fi romances it's true. :-) Kresley Cole has actually been recomended to me before and now you've said it too I'll give her a try next. Never heard of JR Ward, any particular book? (Thank you by the way.)

J R Wards first book in the BDB series is Dark Lover, this is a brilliant series.

What is it about Twilight that you loved? As there are some very good series that are young adult like Twilight, for instance Rachel Vincent Shifter series which begins with Shift.

Or are you looking more for the romance genre with more adult themes (and a paranormal aspect) in which case you could look at:

Nalini Singh
Lynsay Sands
Lora Leigh
Kresley Cole
Sunny

You could also try L K Hamilton's Anita Blake series which did not start out a romance but certainly ended up there.

Hope this helps

Try Luanne Rice e.g. Beach Girls etc;
Karen Robards contemporary novels (start with her earlier ones);
Joann Ross, very similar to Nora Roberts - try her Callahan Brothers series - Blue Bayou, River Rd, Magnolia Moon and Stewart Sister series, Out of the Mist, ...the Storm, ...the Blue and Shelter Bay series. They aren't all series, however.
Have you tried Nora Roberts writing as J D Robb?
Robyn Carr, Virgin River series (read in order) and she's written another series now.

None of the above are fantasy or paranormal.

You might like Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series - romance, timetravel, fae (Sidhe), druids. Don't go for her new Fever series as yet, which is the follow-on and nothing like the other series. It's VERY dark and nowhere near as romantic, but good and has some of the Highlander characters in it. Also, I think you have to read the Highlander series to understand the background of the Fever series, as it is a sequal series. Read in sequence - Beyond the Highland Mist (or Out of the Mist) is the first.

Angela Knight writes good fantasy romances. Some are trilogies though so make sure you have the first in each one, but some stand alone.
Rebecca York also does good romantic fantasy/paranormal novels - all have Moon in the titles, start with the first. About a family of brothers who become werewolves when they hit puberty (can turn in WW at will). They are romantic suspenses with the fantasy/paranormal aspect.

Oh i'm so excited! There's nothing like fresh leads, who knows, I could be reading another page turner soon. I've written your list down and I shall start researching each one now. Im not even sure why I love Twilight so much, there's just something about it that reminds me of Wuthering heights - this was my favorite book, 'pre-twilight', lol. (That and Pride and Predjudice.) I thought about it and decided I like 'real' characters if you like. With weaknesses. Maybe it's the struggle and suffering..?
I love Martina Cole too and she's a completely different genre!

Thank you all so much by the way!

I have come across Robyn Carr and do really enjoy her books actually, although not on the same scale as the others i've mentioned. She likes to draw the plot out slightly too much but it's a minor infraction. Lol. You're on the right path here. So with that in mind I think I'l try the Joann Ross for sure. I'm unsure as to whether I want to try Nora as JD Robb though. I'm worried that since I like her earlier stuff, I'm not going to like a changed voice. In fact I deliberately stayed away from it. Do you like her books? What's the difference? Is it romance or thriller?

J.D.Robb writes detective stories, but they're built round a particular detective - Eve Dallas. I think a lot of people read them for the central relationship as much as for the mysteries. I followed the series for a good while, but I'm not great with fictional gore, and they were slightly too much for me. But really, absolutely worth trying - people love them. The series starts with 'Naked in Death'.

Also, just as another suggestion, have you tried Suzanne Brockmann? She has a series of interconnected books about SEALS, which is sort of the American equivalent to the SAS - and they're really popular too. I'm including a link to an excerpt from 'Over the Edge' - so you can see if you like the writing style.

http://www.suzannebrockmann.com/ote_excerpt.htm

Hi,

Try Ann Bishops - Black Jewels Trilogy - Brilliant and huge
Sunny is great - Mona Lisa is terrific

Real romance here - no paranormal but these are brilliant.

Judith McNaught's Paradise and Perfect - re-read these at least once a year!!
Laveryl (!) Spencer - any of hers are great
Barbara Delinsky's Three wishes is a real tear jerker!!

If you like Jane Austin have you tried the Queen of Regency Romance, the great and witty Georgette Heyer? She actually started writing her books in the 1920/30's, but they are so well researched that she could have been writing in the period itself. They are very polite and mannerly like Regency society was, the language is very polite and formal aka Austin and sometimes includes Regency cant (slang). However, you soon get into it. Some are laugh aloud funny (usually involving dogs or younger brothers). If you haven't read any before start with The Grand Sophy. All of hers are good. I read them all in my teens and am now reading them all again.

Hi Ms Laura - S. Dawkins.

I love Nora Roberts books and have now probably read them all. I particularly like her romantic thrillers e.g. Carolina Moon, Northern Lights etc. But also like her series. Are you reading the Bride Quartet?

As J D Robb she writes the "....in death" series. They are murder mysteries set in 2060 ish and therefore a bit futuristic, with inter-planetary travel as standard etc. They all feature Lieutenant Eve Dallas of NYPD, who is very fiesty, kick ass. In the first book of the series she meets sexy Roake who is an Irish multi-millionaire with a very difficult childhood and shady past and one of the main suspects in her murder enquiry. They have similar abusive backgrounds as each other. He is intrigued by her and sets out in pursuit. Their romance is ongoing throughout the novels and he also helps her in her investigations. Plus there are secondary characters throughout e.g. her sidekick Peabody and one of the police computer experts who fancies her, so there's a secondary romance going as well. They are very good and I like them, but Eve Dallas is a somewhat abraisive character, although that is dealt with with humour. She hasn't the foggiest idea how to deal with social occasions etc., and does so in fear and grudgingly, which is amusing and Peabody acts as a softer and amusing foil for her. You need to start with the first book and read them in sequence as they follow on where the last one left off in time sequence and the earlier books explain Eve's and Roarke's backgrounds. I don't find them TOO gory, as NR doesn't dwell too much on that aspect, unlike some suspense/thriller authors do. She concentrates on finding out who and why; plus the romantic bits. The interaction between the main characters is amusing.

Blimey, Three Wishes had me crying all morning! I'm very careful to avoid tear jerkers now if I can. Was fooled by the film Message in a Bottle though! I loved Three Wishes and her Coast Road is VERY good too!

If you like Austin, do you like historical romances?
e.g. Liz Carlyle (start with her earlier ones)
Eloisa James
Candace Camp
Stephanie Laurens
Julia Quinn (very witty)
Mary Balogh
Lisa Kleypass etc.

I have just finished The Queen of New Beginnings - Erica James and really enjoyed it. Give it a try (it's contemporary).

I second the Liz Carlyle, Mary Balogh and Julia Quinn and would add Loretta Chase and Edith Layton as all-time favourites!

Has anyone else found Susan Wiggs and Deborah Smith (both American authors)?

Also highly recommend Sara Donati both the Wilderness series- historical - and her modern novels Tied to the tracks, and The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square, fantastic reads all of them

Julie Garwood is a favourite of mine, although I read and enjoyed all her books several times, I love Ramson, the Bride, the Wedding, Prince Charming and Saving Grace the most. (historical fan)

Johanna Lindsey
In addition to those authors mention you might want to check out JL if you haven't come across her before. She has written over 40 historicals Viking, Medieval, Regency, Western, and Victorian. I have loved the majority, enjoyed the rest, and only thought 3 (the Present, A pirates love & home for the Holidays) were a bit lame in my opinion, okay but not in the same class as the others.

HI, I did like Feehan's Drake Sisters series and i have a few of her Dark Carpathian series but i agree that they became a bit 'samey' after a while. The Argeneau series by Lynsay Sands was quite good and i enjoyed Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series too. Also, theres the Other series by Christine Warren, although not as good as some others that i have read. Kate McAlister's Dark One series was alright though her lead female characters did irritate me sometimes.
I have read Nora Roberts' Circle trilogy and Sign of Seven trilogy, which i really enjoyed and thought of buying another of her trilogys. Please tell me which you would recommend i try?

Here's some more none fantasy ones for you:
Rachel Gibson
Susan Anderson
Jennifer Cruise - start with Welcome to Temptation (avoid the new ones with Bob Mayer as co-author)
Susan Mallory
Penny McCall - All Jacked Up, her first and in my opinion best novel - funny interaction between the couple.
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Susan Wiggs Lakeside (shore?) chronicals. Start with first one as they feature characters from the same family.
Linda Winfree, Hearts of the South series. Read in sequence.

Here's a site for you - I've been using it for years.

www.writerspace.com
It's a site for romantic writers, Nora Roberts features heavily. When you go onto site click on About Writerspace, top left. Then scroll down the page it gives and you'll see Best Reviews, click. A page will come up with a few reviews. However, on the left you will see a listing of new reviews every month and under that is a long list of genre. Click on what you want and a listing of books will come up. Click on the title of the one you fancy and a synopsis/review will come up. You can also access via author and via publishers - have a play around with it.

Thank you, Jen. I'm going to have loads of new reads for a while now. I'm thrilled. x

Wow LEP I have three pages of ideas now. Thank you. Have you read Julie Garwood? I loved her for historical romances.

Hi N Murphy - Try the Donovan series, the Mackade brothers, The MacGregors and my personal favorites are the Chesapeake Bay quartet - I cannot stress the last one enough. Its about three brothers that all pull together to adopt the 11 year old boy their father was in the process of trying to keep and each book is about them finding love along the way. (They were all boy's with rough pasts too, that no one wanted and were also adopted.) The last in the series is when Seth - the little boy - is all grown up and finds love too. They're lovely. And all so different. I loved Seth's story the most but you have to read them in order.

Thanks Nina Nor and Lizhham, all added to my growing list. My two year old just tried to run off with it, much to my horror. :-)

Thanks Ms. Laura -.S. Dawkins, i've added the Chesapeake Bay quartet to my wish list for when i make my next purchase :)