The inspiration for my blog came from the season finale of CASTLE starring Nathan Fillion. In case you’ve never seen Castle, Nathan Fillion plays Rick Castle, a mystery writer. The female protagonist in his novels is modeled after a NYC detective named Kate Beckett. Her character’s name is Nicky Heat. As a means to jolt him out of his writer’s block, Castle trails Beckett as they solve unusual crimes.  There’s a good degree of sexual tension. You know the kind – the will they/won’t they kind that brings viewers back week after week.

But I’m not here to talk about sexual tension. That’s another blog.

THIS blog is about the poker game Rick Castle has every week with some of his writer pals. Huge kudos to CBS for using actual mystery writers, among them James Patterson (Go on. Squee. You know you want to.), Michael Connelly and Stephen J. Cannell. Rick talks to his pals about the mystery at hand but his friends bring the conversation back to his relationship with Beckett. And as a romance writer, this was particularly delicious as they challenge him to examine what he truly feels about Beckett more closely and follow suit from there. And some people say guys don’t know how to talk about their feelings and relationships.

Now many of us have been asked who you would invite to dinner at your house. There we would sit, elbow to elbow – with the likes of Buddha, Plato, Austen, and Chaplin. But the Castle episode intrigued me and prompted me to wonder which romance writers I would invite to poker night.

The first person I would invite would be Victoria Holt. Her books were the first romances I’d ever read. Classic gothics. Dramatic. Filled with grand homes with nooks and crannies as deep and dark as the characters themselves. Would she have a poker face that would leave you guessing -much like the poker face she uses in her writing. Always making the reader wonder just who the bad guys were.

I’d also invite Karen Rose whose romantic suspense novels are intense and spellbinding, leaving you on the edge of your seat. I’d imagine she bets the way she writes-with precise determination to win at all costs.

Who would the last romance writer at the poker table be? A debut author bringing a breath of fresh air to the table. Or a New York Times bestselling author would add a certain flair to the game. I’m stumped.

Who would your 4^th be? Come on over to my house. I’ll set up the table. Just please, make sure you use the coasters.