What do you read?

Thanks so much for letting me guest blog today, Sandy. I hope everyone's having a great summer so far.

Being an avid reader, a lot of the conversations I have with friends revolve around books. I have to say, I'm not often a very deep reader. I don't usually read literary novels. I just want to be entertained. Whether it's a fast-paced thriller, a breath-stealing paranormal or horror novel, or a steamy romance, if the author can entertain me, I enjoy the book.

Back about six or seven years ago, when my daughter was in preschool, her teacher used to pass on books to me she thought I'd enjoy. Lisa Gardner, Sandra Brown, and Iris Johansen are some of the names that come to mind, though I know there were others. She always swore she didn't read romance--they were suspense books. One of the other teachers used to laugh and say calling them suspense books was a convenient excuse--one people used when they didn't want to admit they were reading romance novels.

At the time, the only romance I was reading was romantic suspense, along with mainstream thrillers and horror books. Though I'd read a couple of historicals as a teenager, I didn't pick up a contemporary romance until after I started writing--sometime in 2001. I was hooked pretty much right away. My family gets a big kick out of this, since anyone who knows me knows I'm probably one of the least romantic women on the planet. *grin*

Now I read a little bit of everything, but I have no problem admitting I read romance. There's nothing wrong with wanting a happy ending, right?

I ran into the teacher at the store a little while back, and I had some Blaze books in my shopping cart. She asked me if I was reading "those books" now, and I had to laugh. I told her I was, and I asked her if she was still reading them, too.

What kinds of books do you read?

I'll draw a random name from the responses to win a print copy of Settling the Score.