As we all know, Dear Author can be a tough cookie so I held my breath while reading this review of Poisoned Kisses only to end up with a big grin on my face. The summary?

Part of the love relationship that develops between Marco and Kyra occurs during periods of deception. At one point, Kyra impersonates an old girlfriend of Marco’s. The fact that I didn’t have a huge problem with this is a testament to your skill as a writer. I didn’t believe that Marco still held a torch for the old girlfriend but rather he was hungry for acceptance and love. Kyra’s true identity is revealed to Marco about half way through and together they search for a solution that would not require Kyra to kill Marco.

Kyra is truly kick ass. She does what she thinks she has to do to achieve her end goals. I ended up caring quite a bit for Marco despite the fact that he was an arms dealer. For me, his path from UN peacekeeper to hardened war criminal made sense and I sympathized with him (within the safe confines of the book of course). Kyra and Marco were a good match. Neither of them wanted war but both used violence to try to tamp it down, not realizing that their own actions were contributing to the furtherance of war.

The plotting was very tight in this book. The sex scenes meaningful and hot. And the writing voice was strong.

It’s a brave new world out there and there are more resources and opportunities for romance writers than ever before. Here are five great sites you may not have known about, but which could help launch your career:

• Romance Divas. This website is command central for many romance writers. Founded and frequented by many published authors, Romance Divas offers free workshops, a very active forum, and a chat room in which writing challenges are the order of the day. (I confess that without this chat room and the writers there who egged me on, I might not have finished my last novel for HQN’s Silhouette Nocturne line.) While a popular hangout for published authors, it’s also a very welcoming place for the aspiring author and readers too. Just this month, several Romance Divas (including yours truly) offered up a virtual anthology of free stories in honor of Valentine’s Day.
• Dear Author This review site can be funny enough to make you spit-take, but it also strives to be fair to the romance community. Thoughtful discussions on the future of the industry take place regularly here and the cross-section of opinions from readers and authors alike is valuable for the professional writer.
• eHarlequin.com. It may seem a little dodgy for me to recommend my own publisher’s website, but in spite of the recent self-publishing debacle, eHarlequin remains one of the most active romance communities on the net. Readers not only buy books there and subscribe to category lines, but they also hang out and chat with authors. I’ve had more than a few readers tell me that they’ve picked up my books simply because I participate in the forums.What’s more, there are many resources for the aspiring writer–including virtual pitch sessions with editors.
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Sometimes the snark factor at “The Bitchery” can be a little much, but the site is a wonderful hodgepodge of all things Romance, great and small. Sometimes it’s a quest to expose plagiarism, other times it’s a quest to find the title of a book that a reader once read but can’t remember. What’s more? Nora Roberts shows up in the comments section all the time, as if she were a mere mortal.
• Romance Wiki. I didn’t even know this site existed until a fan wrote to me to ask me for a list of every Silhouette Nocturne ever written. I had no idea, but Romance Wiki came to the rescue. The resource page alone is worth its weight in gold.
• Romance in the Backseat. I had the pleasure of meeting Terry Kate at RWA Nationals last year. She was the first friendly face I saw, and she carries her enthusiasm to her website where she offers interviews and promotional opportunities for authors. She even sponsors virtual writing conventions!

Okay, so that’s really six great sites for romance writers, not five. But instead of contemplating my abysmal math skills, get online and make the most of the opportunities available!