Phuong is the last of our reading guests for this month. She is, to put it mildly, uber awesome. She is also one of the most hardcore romance readers I know. Not only that, she makes Jess, Rhian, Sami and me feel amazing every time we see her. And she’s one of our biggest cheerleaders on Twitter. Yep, we love Phuong. Big time.

Read her post, you’ll love her just as much.

Lexx

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photoI have always been an avid reader ever since I was a little girl and I devoured the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Little House on the Prairie series. I remember asking my mom to take me to the public library every week and checking out as many books I could at one time. I’m an only child so I really didn’t have an problems being by myself and just spending hours reading.drew38

I would soon discover my love for romance books in my pre-teen years once I started reading Sweet Sixteen, Sweet Dreams and Sweet Valley High books. I loved that the girl would meet her “first love” in high school and I enjoyed reading about them dating and being together. I enjoyed the innocence and sweetness of it all. The book that introduced me to S-E-X was Forever by Judy Blumes. OMG!!! I was SHOCKED, I tell ya! images-1My eyes nearly popped out, jaw hanging open and I had to keep re-reading the sex scenes and trying to understand. Holy smokes! Did the guy just named his “private part”? *Gulp* Well, I guess that didn’t leave any permanent damage to my young psyche because in the 8th grade, a fellow student gave me my first “adult” romance book to read, Remembrance by Danielle Steele and never looked back. I LOVED that book!!! It was a tragic love story but so good and I found myself sobbing in the school library where I volunteered. I find that if an author can evoke such raw emotions in a reader, then he/she has done a brilliant job writing the story.

1315722121About 6 years ago, I found myself somewhat dissatisfied with the sex scenes in the books I was reading and then I discovered the world of “erotic romance books”. OMG! That has been the best discovery of my life! I never knew there was such a genre and I fell in love with it after reading Branded By Gold by Carol Lynne and Covert Lessons by Mari Carr (NYT Bestselling Author) and one of my favorite authors. I enjoy reading both sweet contemporary romances as well as erotic romances including contemporary, menages, BDSM and paranormal. If I could read ALL DAY, I would, except that day job gets in the way. I love to just relax and escape into my fantasy world that these authors have created.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would meet any authors I had read, but I was fortunate enough to meet Jess Dee, Lexxie Couper, Rhian Cahill and many more at the RT Book Fair in 2011. I was so shy when I first met them and just in awe of being around my favorite authors. These ladies were the main reason I went to RT in Kansas City (sad I couldn’t meet Sami) this year because I just LOVE them to pieces and they have made me feel very special and let me be their “fan girl” because I have read almost ALL their books. Down Under Divas have made my life richer just by knowing them and I thank them for their kindness and helping me come out of my shell.

Phuong

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