In praise of new and mid-list authors

I have mentioned a number of times and in a number of different places, how much success I have had in the past year and a half with debut and mid-list authors.
I have read quite a bit about the sorry state of romance today and I just haven’t found this to be the case at all when it comes to new and mid-list authors.
So, putting my money where my mouth is, I want start featuring different gems I have found and why they are gems.

Debut Authors

Kate Rothwell debuted in 2004 with her book Somebody Wonderful. The story takes place in the 1880’s in New York City. The hero is an Irish police officer and the heroine is a rich heiress. This book has a great location and a great time period. I wish there were more Americana books like this. Both the hero, Michael McMann and the heroine, Timona Calverson are wonderful characters, both likeable. What I liked about Timona is she decided she wanted Mick and she went out and got him. I rated this one a 4 out of 5
Her follow-up book, Somebody To Love starred Griffin Calverson, Timona’s rather stuffy brother and Araminta Woodhall her best friend. This book was very unique in that there was a mixed relationship between the hero/heroine. I enjoyed this book even more and rated it 5 out of 5. Kudos to Kate Rothwell.

Paula Reed also debuted in 2004. Her first book, Into His Arms features Faith Cooper as young Quaker woman who is questioning her faith when she is being forced to marry a man she doesn’t want to. She stows away on the ship of Privateer Geoffrey Hampton. Not a shy young miss was this one. I rated this one 4 ½ out of 5.
Her follow up book, For Her Love deals with the issue of slavery and again kudos to Paula Reed for the risks she takes. The hero is Giles Courtney, the second in command from Into His Arms. He decides it’s time to settle down and Grace Welbourne, the daughter of a rich plantation owner is the woman he wants to marry. She is not what she seems however. I gave this book 4 ½ out of 5.

I will continue to share more about authors and their books that convince me that the future of romance seems to be doing quite well in future blogs.
For those who question, where romance is headed, I strongly encourage you to take a chance and try new and mid-list authors. I think you will be very pleased!