Hello, and welcome back! I've been making a wish list for myself and figured there are some things on it I can share with you if you need some ideas either for yourself or a romance writing buddy.

There's always the how-to books....

Writing the Great American Romance Novel by Catherine Lanigan is one I had a chance to take a peek at earlier this year and found very good for romance writers, whether you're just starting out or if you've been at it for a while.

The Romance Writers' Phrase Book by Jean Kent and Candace Shelton is a fun little book. I have a very old, well-creased copy sitting on my shelf with the thesaurus for when the right word just won't come.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King is good for when you need a break from strictly craft reading. I loved him just from reading his books, but this made me an even bigger fan.

Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes by Tami Cowden, Caro Lefever and Sue Viders goes back to the craft aspect, with one of the most interesting, and quite useful, takes on creating characters I've ever seen.

20,001 Names For Baby: Revised and Updated by Carol McDonald Wallace is a great resource for naming those characters. Honestly, I have a number of name books, and this is the only one I've had to replace more than once.

Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents 2007: Who the Are! What They Want! how to Win Them Over!, Vol. 17 is compiled regularly by agent Jeff Herman, and is a fabulous place to go when you're ready to start thinking about where to submit your manuscripts, with both editor and agent listings.

Guide To Literary Agents 2007 is published annually by Writers Digest books, and has a more complete listing of agents than even Jeff Herman, which is quite useful if you think you'd like to find an agent before you start trying to submit to editors. My new one doesn't look very new at the moment, as the spine is rather creased already.

Basic Black Lined Journal (5x8) for those of us who need to have paper handy all the time. You never know when an idea will strike, right?

I know I could add a lot more things to this wish list, but I'll stop here. You all can fill in your own chocolate, music, and beverage ideas, right?

Until next time, happy reading and writing!