Excerpts: I have added a page of excerpts for each novel. I may change them from time to time, but probably not. These snippets were chosen to offer a nice variety of glimpses into each book for those who are newly discovering me. As I have said a multitude of times, I do not wish for anyone to be unsatisfied. Be informed of what my vision and style are before purchasing so that time and money are not wasted!

Synopsis & Purchasing: With the same concept of keeping it simple and being informative in mind, I have revamped these pages for each novel. Links to online retailers are there with a brief synopsis of each novel. The review pages are unchanged, but remain a great way to hear what other readers have felt about my books.

Portrait Gallery: I moved the link up to the Darcy Saga section so it is more visible. I am very proud of the Gallery and the collection of images I have acquired and organized for each novel. I do encourage readers to flip through the albums to enhance your reading enjoyment and comprehension.

Calendar of Events: I am still working on this page, but wanted to have one place where I can list my appearances and other events I think may be of interest. About the time I think I have received my last invitation to speak or sign books, something else comes up! Plus I wanted to alert folks to meetings, festivals, or other occasions that pertain to writing, Austen, reading, etc.

Moving on to great news - Rheanna wrote a stellar "A" review for Loving Mr. Darcy at Try Reading My Mind. Yippee!! What can I say? I never tire of hearing from satisfied readers. And the priase is nice too!

So cute, fun and heartwarming to see the Darcy's love for each other grow exponentially! In Lathans second book the Darcy's journey away from Pemberly to Darcy House their London Home where love, conflict, and chaos ensues. I love getting to know the Darcy's through the authors writings. It seems with each book they become a more cherished old friend.


I was happy to see the original and some of the old characters resurface. (As we all know and love Lady Caroline De Bourgh haha). But the real gems were getting to know Lady Anne (Catherine's ill daughter), Mary, Georgiana and Lydia's ex-right hand Kitty a little better. And of course meeting Raja and Fitzwilliams Uncle George was a delightful humorous episode in itself. You can't help but to fall in love with these characters all over again.


And once again I was flabbergasted as Sharon continually mixes the classic P&P, the 2005 movie, and historical significance into a novel that the reader can relate to today. Its seems to me I'm addicted to this series and the only prescription is ......more Darcys.

Please pop over and thank Rheanna for a lovely review AND for making me her "Author of the Month"

Try Reading My Mind

Furthermore, I had an absolutely amazing time with this incredible group of gals. Let me tell you about these women because they are fantastic. They all attended Hanford High School and were friends. In 1959 they graduated together (excepting 2 ladies who graduated later) and have maintained contact and friendship down through these past 50 years! That is utterly incredible and a beautiful testimony to the power of faithfulness and caring. I was touched by their camaraderie and devotion. On top of that, they were spunky, humorous, and fun, fun, fun! I truly had one of the best afternoons spent with a group of women in ages.

L->R: Karen, Wilma, Bettye, Norma, Reon, Janet, Helen, Me!, Carol, and Linda

Aren't they a gorgeous group of ladies? My daughter joined us and we met at a Mexican restaurant for a delicious lunch. The comments were universally positive with everyone enjoying my novel. They were so gracious, asking me numerous questions about the story and my journey to getting published. But most of the time we just chatted and laughed! I could not believe how active and vital they all were! Carol joked that I was expecting a bunch of old women shuffling in with walkers, and to be frank I kind of was! LOL! I hope I am half as zippy when their age.

After lunch we retired to Janet's house for yummy Better Than Sex cake - eminently apropos! I signed a bunch of books and talked more about the series. But mostly we talked about Hanford and life. I had a blast looking through yearbooks from the late 50s with the ladies and their handsome boyfriends (some who became husbands) posing on the lawns and steps of the same high school my son attends in their classy dresses and bobby socks. Everyone looked so clean cut with perfectly styled hair. It was fabulous! I was sad to leave and really hope I can keep in touch with these women who inspired me and touched my heart.

Sharon Lathan, Author of the Month at Try Reading My Blog

I have also received a second terrifically worded, all positive review from Lori H., guest hosting on Patricia's Read My Book Blog. Lori is a recent discoverer of my series. She powered through Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy and wrote a glowing review: Mr. & Mrs. FD review at Read My Book  Now she has done it again, most eleoquently writing of her enjoyment of Loving Mr. Darcy.

Review of Loving Mr. Darcy of Read my Book Blog

I have said it a million times in the past and will keep on saying it in hope that more people comprehend and act: positive reviews and sharing feedback with others is VITAL for me to keep on reaching new readers and for my inspiration. Thanks SO much for those who take that step! I owe an enormous debt of gratitude and love you all!

Lastly for now, I want to point to the Casablanca Blog where we are celebrating 3 launches this month! It began yesterday with Mary Margret Daughtridge's SEALed with a Ring. Today we party for Joanne Kennedy's Cowboy Trouble. Yooray! Tomorrow, March 3, we blow the horns for Amanda Forester's The Highlander's Sword. Stop in to support my fellow Sourecbooks authors and to learn about some Top A Prime reading material!

I knew it was odd that both Romancing Mr. Darcy and A Darcy Christmas were listed on Amazon for pre-order this far in advance. I honestly can't recall when the other three were first listed, and I know it was several months prior to release, but 9 to 10 months did seem strange. I should have gone with my gut and waited a bit, at least until they showed up on B&N and other online retailers. Oh well, live and learn! This actually isn't the first time listings and cover images and pricing information has gone wacky over there, so I am not too surprised. LOL!

To those of you fretting over the sudden disappearance on Amazon and the cancellation of your pre-orders, I assure you it means nothing serious! It probably simply means that they jumped the gun. And then I jumped the gun in my enthusiasm! Or there is some technical difficulty on their end. Who knows? I promise nothing has changed on my end. All is well!! Both manuscripts are with the copyeditor and I should receive them soon for the final step in that process. Romancing Mr. Darcy WILL be released in October and A Darcy Christmas WILL follow in November. I will probably just get this post published only to have them show back up on Amazon tomorrow!

I do apologize for the inconvenience of ordering and re-ordering. And I also apologize for making formal announcements too hastily. In the future I will do my best to avoid causing panic amongst my readers! Sincerely humbled, Sharon

This review comes from Rheanna at Try Reading My Mind. Rheanna and her nice blog came to my attention two days ago when her Tuesday Teaser was a line from Loving Mr. Darcy. I thought that was so cool! That fun, intriguing post can be read here:

Loving Mr. Darcy Tuesday Teaser at Try Reading My Mind

Rheanna's review was posted today. She gave the novel an A and had lovely words of praise for her reading experience. Thanks Rheanna! I am so happy you enjoyed my novel and deeply appreciate you sharing your thoughts with others.

Review of Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy at Try Reading My Mind

I love waking up to Google alerts that impart excellent news! Today was such a day when I was directed to Patricia's blog - Read My Book - and read this fabulous review for Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One written by Lori Hitz. *dancing* How many times have I expressed the importance of positive reviews? Dozens, I know, but I fear I haven't gotten the point across as to how vital it is for my continued success. So, thank you Lori for taking the time to share your honest thoughts with others who will be informed of this series. This type of sincere feedback inspires me, and most importantly is essential for potential readers to decide if my vision of happily ever after for the Darcys might delight them.

Review of Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy at Read My Book

Today is my turn and I chose the topic of love, courtship, and marriage in the Regency Era. Please come over! Join in the discussion if you want. And be sure to check out the awesome slideshow of our book covers and the websites of our diverse authors. You will never want for excellent reading material again!

Love, Regency Style by Sharon Lathan at the Casablanca Authors Blogspot

That was it! I refused to spend another cent or fret any longer over the unsolvable mystery. The tank sat there looking gross for over two months while I ignored it completely. Then one day I hit upon the idea of turning it into a terrarium. Why not? I am good with plants - Usually, I must add, except for that one cursed spot by the computer. I have given up on that one too! So I spent several weeks researching how to set up a proper terrarium inside an aquarium. Fairly easy, as it turns out, but there is a precise way to do it. Along the way I read about the various live creatures that can flourish in established rainforest-type ecosystems. Nice! We were excited.

For a couple of weeks I obtained the supplies gradually and got the terrarium set up. I found plants and pretty decorations, a lovely waterfall, and moss and rocks. We gave the plants time to take root. Yesterday my hubby decided it was time to add a pet. I was hesitant since I wanted to research more and felt the plants needed a bit more time to prove their hardiness. But he persevered so off we went to Petsmart. Fortunately our local store employs a gal named Joe who is a total reptile geek! She is awesome! I spoke with her at length on a previous visit to the store and she even allowed me to handle the adorable Ball Pythons! That was so cool. Yes, your humble authoress is a reptile person! And rodents too! Sorry if that grosses you all out! LOL!

We agreed on an eyelash crested Gecko. With a basket full of necessary reptile supplies - heater, thermometer, climbing vines, and bark substrate - we brought our new addition home. Our terrarium is now a vivarium! We think he is gorgeous! Leonidas was the agreed upon name, after the famed Spartan King so recently portrayed by Gerard Butler in 300. Our gecko is the king of his new home, after all, and we think he is regal in appearance. Here are a few photos--

The next novel in the Darcy Saga series has been titled Romancing Mr. Darcy. Bear in mind that titles and covers can change, although this one looks to be a keeper. Dominique Raccah, publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks, has final say and personally decides the title and appearance of each novel, which I think amazing considering they publish over 300 titles each year! The end product will look different with the gorgeous silvery foiling that beautifully accents the oval, but hopefully the painting will remain as I LOVE IT!!!!

I am SO in love with this cover!! Dare I say it is the best one ever? That is a tough call as I love all of them, but the ballroom scene is divine and absolutely perfect for this novel as there are two balls occurring within the pages. And the byline!

It's a truth universally acknowledged that everyone wants to fall in love....

How utterly fabulous is that? *sigh Yes, I am very happy and I made sure my editor knew! Let's keep our fingers crossed! Romancing Mr. Darcy is scheduled for release on October 1 of this year. Last week I completed the first round of edits. The process was painless and actually very fun. My wonderful editor, Deb Werksman, requested I try to tighten a few portions and cut where I felt possible to do so. She was entirely open to my wishes, but was correct that the length was on the edge of being too long. So, proceeding line by line with her thoughts and suggestions in mind, I trimmed nearly 9000 words. Have no fear! The story is still intact and over 135,000 words at this point, so there is plenty of the Darcys forthcoming! Now it is in the hands of a copyeditor who will make sure all the grammar is correct and so on.

Following right on the heels of that, and actually overlapping, was news on the Christmas anthology due for release in mid-November. This is a special Sourcebooks project that I was invited to partake of and I had the option of writing anything I wanted. Rather tempting, but I chose to stay with my beloved characters and the Saga. However, I have written a novella that is completely independent for those readers unfamiliar with my work. I am so proud of it! Better yet, my editor was blown away! She said it was "brilliant" - a wonderful word choice, let me tell you!

I am totally in love with this cover too! Wow! I shall say it again: Sourcebooks design creates stunning covers. As you can see, the other authors are Amanda Grange and Carolyn Eberhart. Amanda is well known, of course, as the author of Mr. Darcy's Diary and Mr. Darcy, Vampyre. It is an incredible honor to be in a book alongside her. Carolyn is a debut author. Naturally I will talk more about this novel as the time grows closer. As of this Tuesday I completed the first round of edits for my novella, once again needing to do very little overall. I have a remarkable editor who flawlessly notices those places that are jarring in some way, too modern sounding, or need to be reworked for clarity. It is a fun process, actually, and I learn so much each time.

So there you have it! I probably have a month or less before copyedits will be returned to me for another line-by-line inspection. Until then I am back to writing! I cracked open Darcy #5 yesterday and have already dug in. Fun, fun, fun!!

If one is a romance novelist, love is the most important emotion. Of course, IMO love should be the most important emotion to everyone! We who write of true love and happy endings are forever doing our best to spread positive thoughts and create warm glows of happiness. The ever-increasing group of talented authors published by Sourcebooks under their fiction and romance lines, Landmark and Casablanca, are no exception. 18 of us now contribute daily to the Casablanca Authors blog. I have been a part of this awesome collective of women for a year and a half. They have become my friends, my sisters in this crazy business, and writers I have personally enjoyed reading.

Our blog has been updated with a cool slideshow of our covers and all our smiling faces on the sidebar with links to our websites. Several new voices have joined the group to make our blogging more diverse and fun. The beginning days of each month will be devoted to launch parties for our new releases. This month the spotlight was on Terry Spear, Judi Fennell, and Laura Kinsale with book giveaways! It isn't too late to read about those and enter with a comment.

Starting this month onward we will be exploring themes each month for our personal blogs. This month our theme is - LOVE! No surprise, is it? LOL! I opened the month with a celebration of our blog and our authors. LOVE IS IN THE AIR!! Indeed it is at Casablanca Authors blogspot!