Can you believe it’s August already? My math teacher husband reminds me why I’m constantly astonished at how rapidly the months and seasons fly by: When we’re ten, a year is ten percent of our lives and thus seems a very long time. But at my age, a year is less than two percent of my life, and a month is less than .15%.  No wonder.

Today’s question from the Marketing for Romance Writers blog challenge: Who would you kill or die to have dinner with?

My goodness, such bloody mayhem at the dinner table!

I’m a competent cook and enjoy entertaining so…If given the chance, I’d love to host a tableful of my favorite romance authors. I learn so much from writers who do this genre well—by which I mean their stories envelop even a hyper-critical reader like me in a fictional world that always satisfies.

Side note: It’s not that I seek to be a hyper-critical reader, but when you labor to learn your craft, you notice things a non-author probably wouldn’t, such as an excess of showing, backstory dumps, weird dialogue tags, deus ex machina endings, too-stupid-to-live heroines—the list goes on and on.

Since I prefer stories with steamy love scenes, I’d send invitations to Victoria Dahl, Tessa Dare, Damon Suede, Olivia Waite, Tessa Bailey, Lauren Dane, J.T. Geisinger, Erica Ridley…clearly, I’m gonna need a bigger dinner table. Dare I invite royalty? The Great Nora? Queen Bev? And, just for variety, how about a few of my favorite mystery authors, like J.A. Jance (a wonderful storyteller in person), Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, and Elizabeth Peters? All of them craft such marvelous, multi-dimensional female sleuths and spend plenty of ink on their love interests.

Another reason to host this dinner party: writer gatherings are such fun! From the rawest debut author to the most seasoned multi-published one, they’re generous, funny, and deliciously real, ready to share their challenges, dark moments, and writing quirks.

When I embarked on this journey into writing for publication, fantasy author Ron Walters told me, “Writer friends are the best. You’ll see.” He was right.

This time of year, I’ll prepare a Provençal menu to serve in the garden: marinated olives and a tomato tart to start, with a crisp, fruity rosé, then chicken grilled with garlic and fresh herbs, ratatouille, crusty bread, mixed baby greens in vinaigrette with goat cheese, and a berry tart for dessert.  

How about you? Whom will you invite to dinner? What will you serve? If this question intrigues you, join the discussion here: https://mfrw52week.blogspot.com/