Sharing some love for Bruce Springsteen, Kristen Ashley, Donna Tartt

Today's featured authors: Bailey Bradford, author of Texas & Tarantulas; Carol Lynne, author of The Brick Yard; and Elizabeth Coldwell, author of Night Voices. They're talking favorite celebrities, fellow romance authors and keeper books.

Bailey Bradford, author of Texas & Tarantulas

Three of my favorite celebrities:

I don't watch TV much at all, so I'm picking musicians.

• Rufus Wainright hooked me with his rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. He has so many songs that I love, and I can't wait to see him in concert again in November. He's so much fun to watch live, and his voice is beautiful. My mother, bestie Cherri, and youngest daughter will be going with me to see Rufus this time, and we're going to be those loud fangirls that every concert needs to have.

• Adam Lambert. My other bestie Jaymi had a brilliant idea for a get-together this summer. She suggested that we, and our youngest daughters, go see Queen featuring Adam Lambert, and it seriously rocked. The stadium we were in was packed and everyone was thrilled. People of all ages rocked out. My daughter was astounded and called it her first "real" concert. I'm counting that as one, because I love Queen and Adam Lambert both and seeing them perform together was an incredible experience, and I hope they decide to extend the tour because it'd be fantastic to see that concert again.

• Then there's Bruce Springsteen, rightly named The Boss because he so is. I've had a crush on him for at least 30 years but haven't seen him in concert … yet. It will happen. Most people my age will remember his iconic album, Born in the USA, and the cover of it. Levi's sales must have skyrocketed then. He's continued to put out music that touches the heart and soul. Bruce is a legend. I've missed his tour every time it was near, but I'll take a road trip if necessary to see him soon. That's one concert that is a must-see for me.

Here's the blurb for Texas & Tarantulas (sequel to Dark Nights & Headlights):

Trent Jacek doesn't want too much—to live on the ranch his brother owns, a few puppies to keep him company, maybe a good man. But things just aren't slowing down on the Jacek ranch. They've got a barn to rebuild, and their plan to get a pack of shifter wolves off their back doesn't seem to be working.

Then there's the matter of the bones the police are looking for on the ranch. After a greyed, old femur was left on the porch, Trent and his brother Joe are forced to confront some things they'd never expected to. Is that solitary bone from their mother, who went missing over twenty years ago?

Trent's been having the strangest dreams since he's seen that femur. He doesn't have a lot of time to worry about them between shifter attacks, a nosy biologist and neighbors coming by to snoop.

What Trent doesn't know is someone has put an assassin on his tail, but it's the assassin who will come to question everything he's been told once he meets the vibrant, sexy man he's been sent to kill.

Find out more at www.baileybradford.com.

Carol Lynne, author of The Brick Yard

Three of my favorite fellow romance authors:

This is an easy one for me.

• Diana Palmer because through her books I learned to love romance. I love that her heroes are flawed and her women aren't always gorgeous.

• Kristen Ashley because she writes the best alpha male heroes and sassy heroines on the planet. I love a female character who can stand up to a strong man.

• Last, but certainly not least, Diane Whiteside because she introduced me to the world of erotic romance. Wow! I didn't realize what was missing from traditional romances until I read Northern Devil.

Here's the blurb for The Brick Yard:

For Lucky Gunn, the hardest fight of his life happens outside the cage.

On the south side of Chicago sits an old gym called The Brick Yard.

Ten years ago, on a bitterly cold day, Lucky Gunn wandered into The Brick Yard dressed in a threadbare jacket, looking for refuge. He hadn't expected the owner, Tony Brick, to welcome him with a job and a place to sleep when Lucky's abusive and drug addicted mother made it too dangerous to return home.

Dray was a gay man living in a world of straight fighters. When his secret was exposed to the media, he dropped out, giving Lucky a piece of advice, if you want to make it as a MMA fighter, bury the part of yourself that won't be accepted.

Lucky discovered the cage was the perfect place to keep his demons at bay, but when he learns his trainer and mentor, Brick, is suffering from end-stage cancer, he begins to spiral out of control. After eight years, Dray returns to help Lucky and Brick deal with the devastating news.

With Dray so close, Lucky's old desires return, and Dray teaches him more than how to fight. Torn between his career and the passion he feels for Dray, Lucky finds that his past demons resurface in full force, threatening his sanity and his budding relationship with Dray.

Despite leaving the cage years earlier, Dray finds himself in the battle of his life with the only man he's ever loved. Will he stand and fight or walk away like he did years earlier?

Find out more at www.carol-lynne.net.

Elizabeth Coldwell, author of Night Voices

Three books on my keeper shelves:

• White Palace by Glenn Savan. This is just a perfect "odd couple" romance. The relationship between a young, uptight Jewish widower and a burger waitress from the wrong side of the tracks may seem unlikely, but you're rooting for them to make it work — and the sex scenes are surprisingly hot for a mainstream novel.

• The Secret Library by Donna Tartt. I love this tale of a bizarre, Baroque group of students, led to believe they're a cut above everyone else on campus and eventually driven to murder one of their group for reasons that gradually become clear over the course of the novel. Works both as a mystery and as a satire of U.S. college life.

• Espedair Street by Iain Banks. One for all the frustrated rock stars out there; the tale of the rise and fall of a U.K. rock band and the tormented genius at its heart (you've got to love a good tormented genius). My copy is definitely a keeper because it's signed by Banks, who was a warm, witty man who knew how to engage with his fans.

Here's the blurb about Night Voices:

Roxy is the queen of sex advice—can she work her magic on the man who needs her the most?

Laurie Macari is no longer the hottest thing on radio. His phone-in programme, Late Night with Laurie, is falling in the ratings and he's in danger of being shunted off to the graveyard shift.

Dr Roxy Rose is the American sex therapist whose provocative advice and sultry voice are exactly what Laurie's boss reckons is needed to spice up his show.

At first, Laurie resents Dr Roxy muscling in on his airtime, but sparks fly between them, on-air and off. The more time they spend in the cramped studio, the more Laurie comes to realise the sex life that can benefit most from Dr Roxy's magic is his own. Together they play ever more kinky games, as bratty Roxy submits to Laurie's dominant demands, but what will Roxy's ultimate reward be on the night of the big radio awards ceremony?

Find out more at elizabethcoldwell.wordpress.com.