A pooch who shares his humans equally and '80s memories

Today's featured authors: Sara Luck, author of Hearts Unbound; Leah St. James, author of Christmas Dance; and Lorraine Zago Rosenthal, author of New Money. We have talk of our favorite '80s songs and the memories they evoke and an exploration of where Sara likes to read and write (I want her reading and writing places!).

Sara Luck, author of Hearts Unbound (historical romance)

My three favorite places to read and write:

• I love to read on our beach, but have also read during dark nights above the Arctic Circle, on commercial airliners, on a goat farm in Oregon, in a beautiful mountaintop log house in Wyoming, and during the long blackout periods following Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina. But if I had to pick a place that was my favorite spot to read, it would be a small nook on the top floor, at the back of our house, overlooking Mobile Bay. We call this "Charley's Office" because our dog loves to sit on the loveseat and watch the boats entering and leaving the marina.

• There are two places where I love to write. I am most productive in my office. My husband is also a novelist, and he and I have separate offices, but on the same floor. His office has a view of the Gulf, mine doesn't, but as I like to remind him, an office is for work, not for staring out at the water. Our dog, Charley, divides his time between us, either under my husband's desk, or lying on the small sofa next to my desk, staring lovingly at me. Amazingly, he seems to have an inner clock that allows him to give us each an equal amount of time.

• The other writing location I enjoy is a grotto I built under a canopy of live oak trees next to our beach house. I often sit on a cushioned bench, with my laptop on a portable table, writing under the watchful gaze of the birds at the feeder.

Here's the blurb for Hearts Unbound:

A captivating Basque beauty sparks the passions of a frontier doctor — but it's strictly hands-off, as she is promised to another from her homeland.

Find out more at www.saraluck.com.

Leah St. James, author of Christmas Dance

My three favorite '80s songs:

• This Jersey Girl's favorite band of the 1980s was Bon Jovi, and my favorite song was Livin' on a Prayer. I loved its message of hope during tough times. When it came on TV, I'd crank up the volume and dance along. Thankfully the guys have since had a hair make-over!

• I Love Rock 'n' Roll by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. When I was a young bride, the first year my hubby and I spent New Year's Eve alone, we opened a bottle of champagne and snuggled in front of the TV to watch the ball drop. Jett performed this song, and every time I hear it, I'm reminded of that first special New Year's Eve, and the promise of our future.

• I've Got a Crush on You by Linda Ronstadt with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. When my sons were infants, it was natural to sing to them … whether they wanted me to or not. This classic was a perfect fit because I did have an enormous crush on them, and still do.

Here's the blurb for my latest love story, Christmas Dance:

Alexandra Anderson has a loving husband who provides for her every need, but after a lonely childhood, she wants a family of her own. Sam Herrmann is married to his college sweetheart, and together they have three boys. Sam spends his free time keeping up with the grueling family schedule set by his wife — a wife he barely remembers.

What happens when two married people look at the perfect lives they've created and decide it's not enough? What happens when those two people catch the eye of a stranger, and like what they see? Christmas Dance – A story of love, marriage and temptation. A story of hope.

Find out more at leahstjames.com.

Lorraine Zago Rosenthal, author of New Money (women's fiction)

Three of my favorite '80s songs:

• Love My Way by the Psychedelic Furs. This song reminds me of the time I spent writing my first novel, Other Words for Love — which is set during the 1980s. I immersed myself in '80s music and found this song to be especially inspirational, because it has a romantic but haunting sound that reflects the emotions of my novel's main character when she's involved in her first intimate relationship.

• I Don't Care Anymore by Phil Collins. Although Phil Collins has so many great lighthearted songs, I really like this darker one. It brings back memories of watching Miami Vice when it was new and considered a cutting-edge series. The song was actually featured in one of my favorite episodes, No Exit, which guest-starred Bruce Willis the year before he became famous in Moonlighting.

• New Sensation by INXS. What 1980s memories doesn't this awesomely energetic song bring up? It just sounds like everything '80s: big hair, plastic bracelets, lots of lace...and the late, great Michael Hutchence dancing in a suit.

Here's the blurb about New Money:

A young Southern woman of (extremely) modest means suddenly discovers she is the illegitimate daughter of a recently-deceased media mogul and soon finds herself thrust into a shocking inheritance and New York City high society.

Find out more at lorraine-zago-rosenthal.blogspot.com.